McQueen/Hirst Scarf Collaboration

I was surprised to like this youtube video promoting the McQueen/Hirst Scarf Collaboration but I do … like it, I mean. It’s short, has music I find relaxing and is beautifully shot – a lesson in how to transform a scarf into a desirable accessory.

For info, the joint collaboration is described thus:

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the skull scarf, Alexander McQueen presents an exclusive collaboration with Damien Hirst.

The iconic skull scarf has been a signature accessory of the house first seen in the 2003 Irere collection.

The Damien Hirst and Alexander McQueen scarf collection consists of 30 one-off designs. Each is adapted from Hirst’s Entomology series — butterflies, bugs, spiders and other insects have been worked to form kaleidoscopic geometric shapes, laid out to create the signature McQueen skull motif. The collaboration seamlessly plays on the shared aesthetic vision of Hirst and McQueen, in which an interest in symmetrical design is combined with strong references to the natural world.

The collection offers 30 unique designs exclusively available from Alexander McQueen boutiques and online at alexandermcqueen.com from Friday 15th November

With scarves still available at Alexander McQueen online, priced around £300-£400, the collaboration feels to me like a – somewhat tacky – pre-christmas ruse to exploit names/brands commercially.

Have to say, it doesn’t really work for me because I’m not a fan of designer, artist or such overt attempts at consumer manipulation. It may be irrational but I tend to dislike ‘fashionable’ things that are pushed at me media-wise.

It’s not just the MacQueen brand nor Damian Hirst’s art. I can’t stand Kate Moss either,or Isabella Blow (see Fashion Galore) and, oh, loads of others – too many to list. Doesn’t mean I reject everything my ‘hate’s’ do and stand for but I’m just, generally, not a fan even whilst appreciating some of what they do.

The McQueen/Hirst Collaboration video above was created and shot by London-based Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø whose images were published in the catalogue that accompanied the Alexander McQueen retrospective “Savage Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. That was, apparently, one fine exhibition and I definitely would go see it, if it came to London.

Maybe Sølve Sundsbø is the man to keep an eye on?

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