Alexander McQueen: If This Outfit Was a Room, What Would It Be? Interior Design Takes Inspiration Cues from High Fashion

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was praised for his keen knowledge of bespoke tailoring. His runway fashions could run the gamut from breathtaking to controversial to down right shocking in a single quick progression of waif thin models. Yet his understanding of the female form and how to drape and cut fabric to great effect also meant that the fashions from this house could be seen on royalty (Kate’s wedding dress was done by the House of McQueen) to our own brand of homegrown Hollywood royalty.

Pictured here are a few McQueen selections that captivated due to their unique blend of cultures and period styles. They nod to 1940’s structure and silhouette. The beginnings of a military jacket gives way to a unique spiced fragrance of Spain or morocco, right down to the hint of a flamenco skirt seen here.

Mixing media, periods and cultures is at the heart of great interior design today too. No longer do we do rooms that are in strict adherence to one period or region…lest we wish to look like the room sprang from a room-in-a-bag catalog. If we are to create rooms that live and breathe with us today, creative eclecticism is the norm, not the rule breaker.And so, looking at these fashions from this great fashion house, I asked myself once again:  what room would this fashion collection be? I thought immediately of this hybrid pottery barn meets Spanish hacienda family room we recently completed.

Here, amidst a sea of chameleon-like neutral upholstery shapes, we cut the room with just a hint of Spanish finery:  a heavily carved wood coffee table; a hammered tin end table and lamp; wrought iron candelabras at the fireplace and all is drawn together with a Persian style wool rug. The homeowner put his own current spin on the fireplace built ins – and we answered with the essence of European-feeling fabrics ranging from impressive embroidered velvets (on the to-live-for-draperies!) to rich heavy jacquard wovens and plush chenilles. Is this room traditional? Pottery Barn current? Is there another culture to be found here? Or is the answer somewhere in between?

Like these McQueen fashions – design interpretation is in the eye of the beholder and/or…only the owner knows for sure. For the design team at IDH,  it’s our clients “his and her wishes and cravings”  that we make come true by the clever and wise use of design. May we help you with yours?