Alexander McQueen Fall 2004 "Pantheon Ad Lucem" : A futuristic vision found in the past

For fall 2004 Alexander Lee McQueen presented his futuristic view of women through the lenses of the past. Following his passion for merging the most polar concepts and images, this season Ancient Greece has collided with aliens. As Greece is the cradle of European civilization, the achievements of which were aimed at the future, the name “Pantheon ad
Lucem”, translating from Latin as Towards the Light, perfectly captures the essence of past and future interconnection.

This collection received mixed press reviews. For this season McQueen stated that he wanted to focus attention on purity of design rather than showmanship, as his previous collections were real spectacles, narrative mediums built not only with clothes but also with elaborate set design and theatrical performances. Thus, the audience expected this “theatre” and
“entertainment” and expressed, that this show didn’t meet the previous level. However, the commercial success of this collection proved that the clientele admired his new approach.

Although some were disappointed by the absence of theatricality, the atmosphere was not entirely lacking in drama.  The show started with the projection of scenes from outer space. The runway was a plain white circle, illuminated from above by the construction reminding the Roman colosseum and an extra-terrestrial spaceship at the same time. The soundtrack mixed electropop music with tracks from science fiction films, for example, the Richard Strauss composition "Also sprach Zarathustra", used in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A
Space Odyssey". Stanley Kubrick was one of McQueen's favourite film directors, who he referenced many timed during his career, for instance, in his fall 1999 "The Overlook"
collection, based on movie "The Shining" (1980).

This collection can be divided into four stages or groups of similar styles, looks and references, highlighted by McQueen himself with runway pauses for video projections of outer space, reminiscent of theatrical acts structure.

The first act consists mostly of daily wear for future women in neutral sand tones of beige, grey, and brown. We see McQueen's signature jumpsuits, draped jersey dresses, tailored skirt suits, and panels of different materials creating lines that frame the body. The draped jersey ensembles in the collection reference ancient Greek dresses in a refined way, similar to Madeleine Vionnet's 1930s works.

The decade is also evoked in the silhouettes of tweed suits with slightly mismatched hems. Although the appearance of tweed may seem inconsistent with the overall theme, it has a special significance for McQueen as a national treasure from Scotland, his homeland, to which he is proud to refer season after season. Since 2002 to 2006, all fall collections featured looks in tweed fabrics. Overall, this segment featured a lot of warm materials like cashmere for fuzzy turtlenecks and two-tone cutouts skirts and dresses, as well as incredible shearling jackets: the off-shoulders version and a cropped side closure one with hood.

Another interesting reference worth mentioning is crop circles and Nazca lines patterns embossed on a jacket and a coat, a popular conspiracy theory about aliens engraving these symbols as a sign of their existence.

 

The second act reveals darker shades, more elaborate details, prints and overall evening wear. Alien models strike through the runway in voluminous hooded Mongolian fur coats and ornament, embroidered collars and body harness.

The show-stopping looks are definitely dresses with heavily beaded cutouts and flowy silk skirts, inspired by Princess Leia’s costumes in George Lucas’s “Star Wars” films of the 1970’s. The recurring obsession of McQueen with the animal world is seen in jaguar and snake printed dresses, as well as in a Victorian-style collar made of feathers.

This segment concludes with two relatively simple satin draped dresses paired with silver UFO lookalike headpieces and a slinky grey dress with a draped hood, an important staple in McQueen’s work, that reflects his love for medieval Europe.

 Runway look; Princess Leia in George Lucas’s “Star Wars”

 

 

  

For the third part, the stage is plunged into darkness, leaving only the macabre circle highlighting the models. Night creatures wear very similar looks to the ones shown before but in a deep, dark purple color. The last look in this act is a slinky dress with silk drapes framing the neck, waist, and tying at the hips. This dress is exactly the same as the one presented in the first segment, but in a different color and a shorter form. However, we can notice two new styles added: column gowns with exaggerated floral prints. These eventually became the most popular pieces from this collection for editorial purposes.

  

 

 Vogue Paris, August 2004

  

The grand final of the show consisted of designs outlined by fluorescent tape, illuminated by LED lights, shining through the dark. Alexander McQueen has always pushed for innovation in his collections, techniques, and materials. For his 1999 Fall/Winter collection at Givenchy, he presented android-like outfits, featuring battery-powered LED lights inside plaster body cases.

This collection continued McQueen's exploration of this technique, but with a different aesthetic approach. While the rest of the collection reworks the usual to the brand silhouettes, in this segment McQueen experiments with exaggerated hips and necks and he will continue exploring these shapes for future seasons.

One look featured a giant carcass dress that resembled a UFO spaceship, floating on the model's body, with light coming from inside. Other looks featured wide funnel necklines, one covering the face, and another on an embellished jacket, covering the collarbone and shoulder area.

 

 1999 Fall/Winter Givenchy

 

The show finished with a grandiose look on a model standing in the center, arms open and head lifted up towards the ray of light directed on her, literally referencing the title of the collection and sharing this slight optimistic feel for the future. The staggering gown was composed of pleated silver tulle arranged on the diagonal, as if it was a result of a crystalline growth, featuring a truly magnificent silhouette with cinched waist, exaggerated boat neckline and voluminous A-line skirt with a long, scalloped train.

It was paired with an ornate metal shoulder piece embellished with silver oxidised orchids rising out of the neck, made by Shaun Leane, one of the closest McQueen’s collaborators. He recalled McQueen saying: “I want the flowers to look quiet alien. I want them to look like something that’s not from this planet”.

 

 

The presentation was completed with makeup and hairstyles that supported the main themes. The pale faces with pastel, slightly iridescent eye shadows gave an eerie, out-of-this-world impression, enhanced by catwalk lighting. Wigs with short, tightly curled hair, inspired by Ancient Greek statues, added to the androgynous, homogeneous vision of future womens by Alexander McQueen.

 

 Hermes and the Infant Dionysos, 4th Century BCE; backstage

 

Each season, Alexander McQueen created his own unique reality, a new world filled with personal references from his life, interests, and beliefs. While this collection may not have received critical acclaim or featured in iconic historical moments for the designer, it represents the pure essence of his designs, his unique imagination, and his love for strong women. “Pantheon ad Lucem” truly stands out as a collection presenting optimistic hopes for the future.

 

 

Written by Jane Romanova