Invitation for Alexander McQueen's provocative fashion show, ‘La Poupée’ or ‘The Doll,’ staged at London’s Royal Horticultural Halls on September 27, 1997, as part of the designer’s Spring/Summer 1997 collection. The front of the invitation, 8″ x 5.5″, features an artistic depiction of a woman’s nude lower half, and the reverse bears raised pink text against a white background, “SS McQueen 97, Bellmer, la poupee,” with date, venue, and contact information below. The left side and upper margin is marked in black felt tip, "Alice Smith, Block A 81" and the bottom area features a dedication, “For David Mason,” a close friend of McQueen who had recently taken his own life. Upper left corner features a neon yellow sticker. In fine condition, with a central vertical fold. Inspired by the German artist Hans Bellmer, who created life-size mannequins and arranged them in tableau vivant, McQueen experimented with both the restrictions of the fashion world and of the human body during his surreal La Poupée exhibition—models walked across a 100-foot-long water-covered catwalk and were fashioned to appear as doll-like puppets, with several trussed in various metal restraints designed to inhibit the models from appearing or walking normally. Provenance: from the Alexander McQueen Collection of Alice Smith, his first publicist, longtime friend, and muse.
