Simon Waterfall – Poke

We spend our professional lives and a large part of our sanity trying to find good content for clients, and given the opportunity to design Alexander McQueen’s website (www.alexandermcqueen.com) we almost froze with fear. Picture the end scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, when they wheel the Ark of the Covenant into a huge warehouse full of equally mind-bending treasures… that’s McQueen’s image library; every piece since his student days, every collaborative project with Nick Knight, every show from every angle. OK, after the honeymoon wore off, we realised the most inspirational thing in the label is McQueen’s process; his eye and his tailoring skills in pattern-cutting are second to none. We ditched the images and followed his process from line to pins, to tack and stitch. His inspiration for the collection and what he is trying to do with each piece became the palette rather than the core.

I’ve always been inspired by what you as a designer can’t do yourself, and, in this case, we tried to put McQueen next to his work so he could explain the unfathomable detail he is able to produce. It’s this inspirational mix of fear, awe and joy we get every season when we attend the show.