Listen to the sounds of Alexander McQueen, through a trio of exclusive playlists mixed by the designer's music director John Gosling
For fifteen years, John Gosling worked with Alexander McQueen to create the lustrous, textured soundscapes that accompanied and enhanced his shows. A musician, producer and DJ, who created pioneering electronic music under the name Mekon, he was lured into show music by the designer himself, with a promise of a novel and experimental experience. That promise was fulfilled and he is now a key part of the infamous McQueen legacy – a series of shows that pushed the accepted boundaries of what spectacle and fashion could be. His selections sampled a blend of disco and Maria Callas arias for McQueen’s debut at Givenchy couture and paired an undulating hologram of Kate Moss with the soundtrack to Schindler’s List. It mirrored the intelligent innovations of the clothes it accompanied, at once entertaining, unusual and thought-provoking.
And his work with McQueen continues in the Sarah Burton era, directing the music for the shows, and also sculpting the soundscape for Savage Beauty, both at the Met and at the latest iteration of the show at London’s V&A. This season AnOther Magazine has staged a unique celebration of all things McQueen, running across a trio of covers marking the past, present and future of the design house, as well as the AnOther Digital Limited Edition, the moment that print became digital. Starring Rihanna in a high definition moving cover, the film is soundtracked by a trio of playlists created and mixed by Gosling, with the past represented by the Horn of Plenty soundtrack from S/S09, the present by the S/S15 soundtrack for Sarah Burton, and the future by Gosling’s imaginative remix of tracks from the other two. Here we present the exclusive chance to listen to the Sound of McQueen, previously only available with the Another Digital Limited Edition. They are exhilarating playlists that demonstrate Gosling’s playful attitude to the meeting of fashion and music – as he told AnOther three years ago, “I try and keep a healthier, punkier attitude to this fashion thing.”
