This jacket was presented at Alexander McQueen’s Fall/Winter 2010 men’s collection, titled ‘An bailitheoir cnámh,’ (a Gaelic phrase that means ‘the bone collector’). The collection was based on the lives of the seafaring folk who dwell in the harsh conditions near the North and South poles -- the ends of the earth. Alexander McQueen has used skulls as a recurring motif in his designs. Skulls have historically been used in art as a memento mori, however, they have also been historical symbols of rebellion and non-conformity in subcultures from pirates to punk. McQueen, nicknamed “L'enfant Terrible”, brought the skull motif into high fashion as a sign of his own subversion of fashion norms. This was McQueen's last show before he died of suicide in his flat in Mayfair. McQueen suffered from acute anxiety, severe depression and addiction brought on by extreme stress. He hung himself after taking an overdose of drugs.
