McQueen shuns celebrity culture as he opens in LA
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10:19AM
Wednesday April 09, 2008
By Susannah Frankel
A model wears a creation from Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2008/09 men's collection during Milan Fashion Week in January. Photo / Reuters
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You have to hand it to Alexander McQueen: the designer has cojones.
On the eve of the opening of his flagship store on Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles - and just when his contemporaries might be kowtowing to the city's celebrity-driven culture - he made clear that he was courting a less brash brand of clientele.
Of LA's leading lady, Paris Hilton, he remarked: "If she comes past the shop, hopefully she'll just keep walking. I don't really covet that sort of thing."
One can only assume that the paparazzi princess speaks highly of him in return.
For all the audacity of the gesture - and let's not forget that McQueen, 39, an east Londoner born and bred, is not only unusually plain-spoken given his profession but is also a media manipulator par excellence - the statement is nothing if not a sign of the times.
Because, while the likes of Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani persist in wooing Hollywood's finest, there is a growing feeling that the fashion establishment needs a challenge.
