13 is rumoured to be an unlucky number somewhere. Your writer firmly disagrees, not least because he is actually born on the 13th of a month. While many wouldn’t take my word for it, there is light at the end of this tunnel. In the world of fashion, 13 being an unlucky number is a story so hilariously wrong that it’s almost sensational how it hasn’t been used as proof to debunk the superstition.
Who do we have to thank for redeeming 13 beyond belief? Alexander McQueen, and more specifically, their iconic SS99 show.
This one, which was the designer’s 13th show, was not just another run-of-the-mill event, but a landmark moment in fashion history. Even McQueen couldn’t have foreseen the impact it would have on the fashion realm. Indeed, as he recalls, throughout his illustrious career of countless shows and moments, No. 13 was the only one that actually made him cry.
Alexander McQueen SS99 was a simple collection on the surface of things, but this simplicity was layered in a way that people are still marvelling at it more than two decades later. Set in a ground-level set made out of rather unremarkable floorboards, it overdelivered unlike anything before it. McQueen paid homage to the Arts and Crafts Movement, something that interested him for years. The collection featured mostly natural colours like tan, beige, and ivory. Materials used included raffia for detailed tops and fringed skirts, balsa wood shaped into delicate fan-like patterns, lace with ruffles, and leather. Paralympic champion Aimee Mullins opened the show wearing wooden prosthetic legs carved to McQueen’s design, inspired by the sculptor Grinling Gibbons.
The reason the No. 13 show is still talked about today also has something to do with its timing and execution. 1999 was a time when British pop culture was everywhere and British art was revered. The show also went against any and all fashion conventions, having a runtime of well over 20 minutes. The middle act saw models leap on disks and spin, not too different from iconic music doll toys, while wearing the collection’s hit light silks. The most sensational moment was the finale, which saw model Shalom Harlow dancing on a platform while two robotic arms sprayed her white dress with black and yellow paint, creating a dramatic scene. It was futuristic before people realized what the word meant.
So the next time someone silly mentions how Friday the 13th gave them a bad day, just point them in the direction of Alexander McQueen SS19, the 13th show that created history and forever changed the landscape of fashion.
