Invitation for Alexander McQueen's fashion show, ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much,’ presented at Lycee Carnot in Paris on March 4, 2005, as part of the designer’s Autumn/Winter 2005 collection. The invitation unfolds into a color 23.25″ x 33″ poster resembling the original one-sheet movie poster for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film noir Vertigo, with bold black text, “The Man Who Knew Too Much, ‘McQueen.’” The lower border features event, venue, and contact information. Reverse of poster marked in black felt tip: “Standing.” In very good to fine condition, with expected folds and some creasing.
After alluding to Hitchcock in The Birds (1995) and Voss (2001), McQueen staged an arresting tribute to one of his favorite directors with ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much,’ a showcase saturated with overt references and Golden Age nostalgia. In addition to the Hitchcock aesthetic, McQueen saluted the style and figures of various stars from the late 1950s and early ’60s, such as Tippi Hedren, Kim Novak, Brigitte Bardot, and Marilyn Monroe. Ironically, whereas McQueen had previously been criticized for being too edgy and overshadowing his designs with theatrics, on this occasion he was rebuked by fashion editors for playing it too safe.
Provenance: from the Alexander McQueen Collection of Alice Smith, his first publicist, longtime friend, and muse.
