That’s Not My Age

It’s a big week in London fashion, as well as the official launch of Style Forever the Alexander McQueen retrospective Savage Beauty opens at the V&A. Yesterday I went over to Tate Britain where there’s another McQueen exhibition Working Process a series of photographs by Nick Waplington. Taken behind the scenes in 2009 as the acclaimed fashion designer prepared for, what was to be, his final show – the Horn of Plenty. Waplington recently told the Observer that his friend Lee (Alexander) McQueen ‘wanted a way out of fashion’ and had applied to study fine art at the Slade school in London.

It’s wonderful to get a glimpse of McQueen at work – Waplington was given unprecedented access by his friend – and these are beautiful photos that capture the different stages of the design process, including McQueen on his knees pinning garments and a nerve-jangling visit from Anna Wintour:

The photographer’s earlier work focuses on class and identity and the grittier side of life, I have a couple of his books including Living Room, which documents the day-to-day life of two working class families in Nottingham. McQueen apparently liked his ‘dirty, messy style’ and viewed the Horn of Plenty collection as a retrospective of the last 15 years of his work. The fashion photos are cleverly juxtaposed with images of landfill sites and recycling plants that according to Waplington, ‘refer to the political situation in Britain. It was just after the banking crisis and the country was in recession. Lee saw this as a reflection of contemporary society at that time.’

Waplington was at the preview yesterday and when asked about the Working Process experience he said, ‘Ultimately I am part of his legacy and people will always ask me about this experience, and I accept that. It’s fantastic that this work exists because otherwise something beautiful would have been lost forever.’

Nick Waplington/Alexander McQueen: Working Process is a fantastic exhibition. It’s on at Tate Britain from 10 March – 17 May 2015