Before his death, McQueen railed against greed. Finally, we’re listening

Right before the showing of his “Horn of Plenty” collection in Paris in 2009, the designer the late Lee Alexander McQueen decried the state of the fashion industry.

“The turnover of fashion is just so quick and so throwaway, and I think that is a big part of the problem. There is no longevity,” he told The New York Times.

Conservator Viki Car with two pieces from Alexander McQueen’s Horn of Plenty collection that will feature in the NGV exhibition.Credit: Scott McNaughton

McQueen’s words, which were said in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and as a response to the “empire building” that had become synonymous with fashion labels, are a timely reminder of the need to reduce excess, on the eve of a major exhibition on his style and influence, Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, at the National Gallery of Victoria.

The exhibition will feature about 110 McQueen works, including several pieces from Horn of Plenty, which was characterised by a bold red/black/white palette. About 60 pieces are on loan from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the remainder are from the NGV’s collection.