Alexander (McQueen) the great

As a new play and V&A exhibition celebrating Alexander McQueen open in London, Rachel Marie Walsh looks at the life and style of the iconic designer.

JAMES PHILLIPS, the award-winning playwright behind McQueen, The Play, talks of his inspiration. “I saw a way to write the play I think he would have liked, a fairytale show that was very much like one of his shows.” Working with the support of the late designer’s family, he’s scripted a must-see production for any fashion fans heading to London this month. Stylishly directed by theatre and opera veteran John Caird, McQueen celebrates the difficult times the designer survived and the redemption he found in his work.

The play is set during a dark night of the soul for the designer as he struggles for inspiration for Plato’s Atlantis, the last full collection he presided over.