The Widows of Culloden 

(Scottish Gaelic: Bantraich de cuil lodair) is the twenty-eighth collection

of the British designer Alexander McQueen, made for the Autumn/Winter 2006 season of his
eponymous fashion house. Widows was inspired by his Scottish ancestry and is regarded as one of
his most autobiographical collections. It is named for the widows of the Battle of Culloden (1746),
often seen as major conflict between Scotland and England. Widows makes extensive use of
the McQueen family tartan and traditional gamekeeper's tweeds, as well as other elements taken
from Highland dress. Historical elements reflected the fashion of the late Victorian era and
the 1950s.
The collection's runway show was staged on 3 March 2006 during Paris Fashion Week. It was
dedicated to Isabella Blow, McQueen's friend and muse. The show marked a return to theatricality
for McQueen, whose shows in the preceding two seasons had been comparatively
conventional. Widows was presented on a square stage with a glass pyramid at its centre. Fifty-one
ensembles were presented across roughly three phases, ending with a Pepper's ghost illusion of
English model Kate Moss projected within the glass pyramid.
Critical response was positive, especially towards McQueen's tailoring and the collection's balance
of artistry and commercial practicality. The show is since regarded as one of McQueen's best, with
the illusion of Kate Moss regarded as its highlight. Ensembles from Widows are held by various
museums and have appeared in exhibitions such as the McQueen retrospective Alexander
McQueen: Savage Beauty. The Widows of Culloden collection and show, especially the Kate Moss
illusion, have been extensively analysed, especially as an exploration of gothic literature in
fashion. Widows is frequently discussed with McQueen's first Scottish-themed collection, Highland
Rape (Autumn/Winter 1995), whose runway show was highly debated in the fashion world.

Background[edit]

Outfits from Highland Rape, Autumn/Winter 1995–96, presented at Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

British designer Alexander McQueen was known in the fashion industry for dramatic,

theatrical fashion shows featuring imaginative and occasionally controversial designs.[2] Although he
was born in England, McQueen's father was of Scottish descent. His mother was fascinated with this
family history, an interest she passed on to McQueen early in his childhood.[3][4] McQueen maintained
an interest in contentious periods of Scottish history, especially instances of Scottish–English conflict
such as the Jacobite risings and the Highland Clearances.[5][6] He resented the romanticisation of
Scotland (sometimes called tartanry), particularly by other British fashion designers such as Vivienne
Westwood, and drew inspiration from Scottish resistance to English domination.[5][6]
McQueen's first Scotland-inspired collection was the controversial Highland Rape (Autumn/Winter
1995), which marked his first use of the red, black, and yellow McQueen clan tartan.[7][8] The
collection became known for its runway show, which featured models walking unsteadily down the
runway in torn and bloody clothing.[6][7] Intended as a reference to what McQueen described as
"England's rape of Scotland", the collection was described by many British fashion critics
as misogynistic, a characterisation to which McQueen consistently objected.[6][9][10] American
journalists tended to be more positive about the collection: Amy Spindler of The New York
Times called it "a collection packed with restless, rousing ideas, by far the best of the London
season."[9][11] In retrospective, Highland Rape is considered to be the launching point of McQueen's
fame, and has been credited with leading to his appointment as head designer at French luxury
fashion house Givenchy.[5][10][12] He held that post from 1996 to 2001; shortly after his contract ended
he sold 51% of his label to the Gucci Group.[13]

Concept and creative process[edit]

McQueen family tartan[14][15]

The Widows of Culloden (Autumn/Winter 2006) is the twenty-eighth womenswear collection

designed by McQueen for his eponymous fashion house. McQueen spoke of wanting to "show a
more poetic side" of his work with the collection.[16] The collection was inspired by McQueen's
Scottish ancestry, his love for the natural world, and Shakespeare's Scottish play Macbeth.[17][18][19] Its
name comes from the women who were widowed following the Battle of Culloden (1746).[20] This
engagement marked the defeat of the Jacobite rising of 1745, in which Charles Edward Stuart raised
a Scots Jacobite army and attempted to regain the British throne. The battle led to British efforts to
dismantle the Scottish clan system and ban the wearing of tartan, and has historically been
mythologized as a conflict between Scotland and England.[21][22]
Widows features the return of many of McQueen's signature elements: sharp tailoring, altered
silhouettes, and a dark yet romantic atmosphere.[23] Multiple authors described it as something of
a greatest hits collection for the designer.[24][25][26] Soft dresses and flowing evening
gowns accompanied McQueen's typical tailored suits and dresses.[27][28] The light, ethereal aspect of
many of the dresses is credited to McQueen's time at Givenchy, where he learned le flou, the
dressmaking side of haute couture.[28][29] McQueen personally created many patterns from the
collection.[18]
Many elements from the collection were taken directly from or referred to traditional Highland dress,
both upper- and lower-class.[20][30] The primary fabrics used were tartan and tweed; Aran
knit, brocade, black velvet, organza, and chiffon also featured in several ensembles.[4][19][31] Some
garments, especially those made with chiffon, were torn or left with unfinished seams.[25][32] Other
items were artificially aged to create the appearance of having been worn.[33] As in Highland Rape,
the tartan used in the collection is the red, yellow, and black McQueen family tartan, woven in a
historic mill in Lochcarron, Scotland.[4][34] Several of the tartan garments included aspects of the
traditional féileadh-mór, a large piece of fabric which is wrapped around the body and held by a belt,
and the kilt, a knee-length wraparound skirt.[7][29] Other uses of tartan were non-traditional, such as
tailored jackets and suits.[23]

Deer stalkers on Glenfeshie Estate in Scotland, c. 1858

The extensive use of tweed references the garb of traditional Scottish gamekeepers.[17][20][35] Tweed

production is indigenous to Scotland, especially in the Scottish Isles. In the 1840s, the fabric
acquired an association with high-class leisure, after the British nobility began taking hunting trips to
Scottish estates and adopting the tweed worn by locals and estate staff.[36] The tweed also plays on
McQueen's Autumn/Winter 2005 collection, which made similarly heavy use of the fabric.[37]
Hunting and gamekeeping is also referenced in the use of animal fur and items made from the
feathers and wings of game birds.[20][17][35] Usage of animal parts, both natural and imitation, was
typical for McQueen; he was especially partial to the symbolism associated with birds.[38][39] The
show's headpieces made particular use of avian elements.[40][41] They were created by Irish-born
milliner Philip Treacy, a frequent collaborator of McQueen's; they had been introduced by
McQueen's friend and muse Isabella Blow.[42][43] Some authors interpreted their complexity and
emphasis on birds as a gesture toward Blow, who loved elaborate headwear and the sport
of falconry.[40] Other authors read them as an allusion to bird-women in mythology; author Katharine
Gleason wrote that the headdresses imparted a "mythic quality" to the models.[44][45]
Many ensembles incorporated historical elements and allusions to other designers. Fashion historian
Judith Watt noted references to the Arts and Crafts movement, as well as the S-bend silhouette
common in the fashion of the 1870s and 1880s.[26] The use of wasp waists, bustles, close tailoring,
and belted jackets can be seen as a reference to Victorian and 1950s fashion.[46][47][48] Some designs
alluded to the military uniforms of World War II, and model Spitfire planes were repurposed as hair
accessories.[7][49] The winged headpieces referenced a series of winged headdresses made by Italian
couturier Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s.[50] Several of the evening gowns took inspiration from a
dress designed in 1987 by fellow British designer John Galliano, nicknamed the "shellfish dress" for
its layers of white organza ruffles that resembled stacked clamshells. McQueen had long admired
and sought to emulate the complicated construction of the original.[51]

Runway show[edit]
[This] collection is . . . romantic but melancholic and austere at the same time. It was gentle but you could still feel the bite of
cold, the nip of the ice on the end of your nose. . . . With bustles and nipped waists, I was interested in the idea that there are no
constraints on the silhouette. I wanted to exaggerate a woman's form, almost along the lines of a classical statue.
Alexander McQueen, Another Magazine, Autumn/Winter 2006[1]

Staging and design[edit]

The runway show for The Widows of Culloden was staged on 3 March 2006 at the Palais
Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, and was dedicated to Isabella Blow.[20][42] McQueen typically
worked with a consistent creative team for his shows, and Widows was no exception.[52] McQueen's
creative director Katy England was responsible for the show's overall styling, Eugene
Souleiman styled hair, and Charlotte Tilbury styled make-up, which was kept minimal and neutrally
toned.[43][53][54] Production was handled by Gainsbury & Whiting, and John Gosling was responsible for
soundtrack design.[43][55] Widows marked a return to theatricality for McQueen, whose shows in the
preceding two seasons – The Man Who Knew Too Much (Autumn/Winter 2005)
and Neptune (Spring/Summer 2006) – had been comparatively conventional.[20][31][56]
Gosling's soundtrack incorporates songs from the 1993 film The Piano, scored by Michael Nyman;
Scottish bagpipes and drums, various punk rock tracks, and a sound effect of howling wind.[20]
[35]
 McQueen intended to use a track commissioned from Nyman for the finale, but dropped it in
favour of a song from the soundtrack of the 1993 film Schindler's List.[a][20][59] Scottish historian Murray
Pittock wrote that the use of the Schindler's List song "suggested an analogy between Culloden and
the Holocaust".[60]
The invitations for the Widows show were black and white, with a print of an Edwardian cameo and
the title of the show rendered in Scottish Gaelic: Bantraich de cuil lodair.[29]

Show[edit]

Excerpt of the illusion of Kate Moss

Audience members entered the space through a large glass pyramid.[31] Seats were arranged around
a square stage of rough wood, reminiscent of the wooden stage in his collection No.
13 (Spring/Summer 1999). Another glass pyramid was placed in the centre of the square, leaving a
catwalk in which the models walked counter-clockwise.[31][61] In contrast to Highland Rape, when the
models staggered or stalked angrily down the runway, the models in Widows moved in a stoic,
upright manner which Gleason described as "the attitude of warrior princesses".[31][45]
Widows of Culloden comprised fifty-one ensembles across three broad phases, each look worn by a
different model.[61][56] The show opened with dresses, sweaters, and tailored suits in tweeds, Aran
knits, and brocades of muted neutral shades.[27][29][56][62] The next phase comprised dark-coloured outfits
with a focus on tartan and black leather, followed by a series of black evening gowns sometimes
taken as mourning dresses.[17][41][62][63] The final looks were a set of lighter-coloured gowns, some of
which were worn with frock coats.[62][64] The show closed with a Pepper's ghost illusion within the glass
pyramid, featuring a life-sized projection of Kate Moss, an English model and friend of McQueen's,
wearing a billowing chiffon dress.[20] It was the first fashion show to employ this kind of illusory effect.
[65]
 After the illusion ended, as a curtain call, all the models walked the runway in a parade to
the Donna Summer song "Last Dance" (1978), followed by McQueen.[56][66]

Significant ensembles[edit]
The show opened with Ukrainian model Snejana Onopka wearing a tweed suit with a fur collar,
cream shirt with ruffled front, and tan-coloured leather boots. The look was styled with the "Bird's
Nest" headdress, made from a pair of mallard duck wings surrounding a silver bird's nest with blue
eggs made from quartz Swarovski crystals, speckled to look like duck eggs.[35][56][67] The nest and eggs
were created by British jeweller Shaun Leane, while the headpiece was made by Treacy; both of
whom were long-time McQueen collaborators.[45][67]
Look 12 was a full-length dress covered entirely in pheasant feathers. Its long torso and flared lower
portion reference the style of gowns from the 1890s.[1][56] Researcher Kate Bethune described the
unique construction of the dress: "each of the feathers has been individually hand-stitched onto a
length of ribbon, and then these lengths of ribbon have been stitched onto a net ground".[68] Jess
Cartner-Morley of The Guardian called it "meticulously engineered" and likened it to a full-length
dress made of razor clam shells from Voss (Spring/Summer 2001).[37] Fashion theorist Jonathan
Faiers wrote that the lavish use of game bird feathers evoked Scotland's transformation into a
"sports arena for absentee English landlords" in the late Victorian era.[50]
Look 14 was a blouse and midi skirt ensemble of a light material, printed with a collage of realistic
images of birds, moths, and skulls. It was paired with a tan fur coat that matched the skirt's hemline,
and a wide belt of dark leather at the waist.[56][69] According to textile curators Clarissa M. Esguerra
and Michaela Hansen, the print represented "the collection's themes of nature, metamorphosis,
and memento mori".[69]
Look 33 was a one-shouldered tartan dress with tulle underskirt, styled with an undershirt of sheer
fabric with rose designs in black, creating an illusion of arm and chest tattoos.[20][56] The model's waist
was cinched by a large belt in dark leather with a Celtic buckle.[20] Roses paired with plaid was a
combination used on some Jacobite clothing.[70] On the runway, it was styled with the "Bird Skull"
headpiece, which featured black feathers and a silver-case eagle skull set with dark Swarovski
crystals.[67]
Brazilian model Raquel Zimmermann wore Look 47, one of the collection's most-discussed
ensembles, a full-length ivory gown in silk tulle and lace with an antlered headdress.[1] The flowers
from the lace were individually cut and hand-sewn to the tulle.[71] The dress ended in a fishtail hem
with a tumble of lace ruffles set on the bias; Watt noted a similarity to dresses in the paintings of
French artist James Tissot.[26][62] For the headpiece, a £2,000 piece of hand-embroidered lace was
draped over and pierced by a pair of translucent white Perspex antlers to form a veil.[72][71] The gown
was based in part on the wedding dress of Sarah Burton, a designer with McQueen's label. Some
sources refer to it as a wedding dress, but it has also been called the Widow's Weeds, after the
Victorian term for women's mourning clothing.[72][73][74] McQueen previously employed a similar
headpiece using antlers and black lace in Dante (Autumn/Winter 1996), which reappeared in his
2004 retrospective show Black.[24][75][76]
Look 48 was a flowing gown in off-white chiffon, worn by Australian model Gemma Ward, with
butterflies placed in the hair as accessories.[56] Both Judith Watt and fashion journalist Dana
Thomas described it as an evolution of the oyster dress, from Irere (Spring/Summer 2003), inspired
by Galliano's shellfish dress.[51][77] Cartner-Morley connected the use of butterflies to the final
showpiece of Voss, in which artist Michelle Olley was "besieged by giant moths".[37]

Reception[edit]
English model Kate Moss, 2005

Contemporary reviews were highly positive.[42] McQueen received a standing ovation at the runway
show, a rarity in fashion.[37][78][79] Reviewers particularly noted McQueen's tailoring as one of the show's
strongest features.[18][23][47] The illusionism of Kate Moss dress was regarded as the highlight of the
runway show.[17][25][80] Women's Wear Daily named Widows one of their top ten collections for the Fall
2006 season.[81] It had the highest pageviews at Style.com for any major collection that season, with
1.7 million.[82] Robert Polet, then chairman of Gucci Group, the parent company for McQueen's label,
reportedly cried "bravo!" upon seeing it and ran backstage to congratulate McQueen.[78][83] Elizabeth
McMeekin of The Glasgow Herald suggested the collection had helped drive a trend for Scottish-
inspired fashion that season.[27]
Many reviews noted that the collection was both artistic and commercially viable.[18][23][47] McQueen did
not always achieve this balance – his designs were notorious for being unwearable – so critics felt
this was a positive development for his brand.[32][84][85] According to Jonathan Akeroyd, then CEO of the
Alexander McQueen brand, the looks chosen for the runway "represented about half of what was
available" for sale from the collection.[78] Akeroyd reported that sales were strong for the collection
and credited the theatrical runway show for driving brand awareness.[78] Writing in the International
Herald Tribune, fashion journalist Suzy Menkes concurred, calling the collection's eveningwear "a
brand image-maker".[86] Several of the evening gowns were suitable for ordering as custom bridal
gowns.[18]
Writing for Vogue, Sarah Mower called it a "timely reconfirmation of McQueen's unique powers as a
showman-designer".[56] For The Daily Telegraph, Hilary Alexander said that it "restored the true spirit
of the romantic renegade to the catwalk".[62] Lisa Armstrong at The Times wrote that "almost every
item was a showstopper but also eminently wearable", although she called the Moss illusion
"unspeakably cheesy".[47] According to Susannah Frankel at The Independent, the show was "a
return to the unbridled spectacle and raw power with which he made his name", citing its
"juxtaposition of fragility and strength, masculinity and femininity".[32]
The collection is viewed favourably in retrospect. In a 2011 interview with Vogue, Sarah Burton, who
succeeded McQueen as the label's head after he died in 2010, described Widows as one of his most
iconic collections.[72] In 2012, Judith Watt called the sculptural aspects of some designs close to the
"purist cutting of Cristóbal Balenciaga", a Spanish designer known for technical precision and unique
silhouettes.[87][88] Dana Thomas said that Widows represented a "Best of McQueen in the 1990s" in
her 2015 book Gods and Kings, writing that many ensembles appeared to be revisions of
McQueen's own earlier designs.[24] British fashion curator Claire Wilcox described Widows in 2016 as
a "masterly, romantic collection".[17] Edinburgh-based journalists Caroline Young and Ann Martin
wrote that the collection's slim-fit tailored tartan suits "presented the designer's refined craftsmanship
at its very best".[30] Speaking in 2020, author Vixy Rae said "it had a focus of extreme technicality
matched with richness of imagery with ideas taken directly from Scottish costume".[4]

Analysis[edit]
Autobiography and historicism[edit]
McQueen's work was highly autobiographical: he incorporated elements of his memories, feelings,
and personal fixations into his designs and runway shows.[89][90] Widows, with its emotional focus on
both McQueen's and Scotland's history, is generally regarded as one of his most autobiographical
collections.[32][91][92] Deborah Bell, a professor of costume design, cited curator Andrew Bolton in noting
that the "romantic version of historic narrative" from Highland Rape and Widows was "profoundly
autobiographical" for McQueen, and suggests this is the reason that it was so impactful.[93] Fashion
theorists Paul Jobling, Philippa Nesbitt, and Angelene Wong called the collection "a personal
reckoning with [McQueen's] own past", particularly his relationships with his mother, sister, and
Isabella Blow.[94] Women's Wear Daily noted that "the clothes seemed perfectly to describe
McQueen's own eccentric point of view".[18]
Historical references are a major component of The Widows of Culloden, resulting in critical
discussion over whether the collection is modernist or historicist. Cultural theorist Monika Seidl
discussed Widows as a collection in the vein of Romanticism, a 19th century movement which
emphasised emotion and glorification of the past.[95] She cites it as an example of fashion that "self-
confidently plays around with time when fragments from the past are blatantly and visibly reactivated
as the new look of the moment".[96] Cathy Horyn of The New York Times argues that McQueen was
"a storyteller", which positioned him as anti-modernist.[97] She criticised the historical elements
in Widows as an unnecessary obstacle between McQueen and his designs.[97] Historian Jack Gann
argued that, in effect, it was both: the modern and historical elements combined to show that
"perception of our place in time is simultaneously of multiple eras".[98]
Costume curator Lilia Destin noted that the collection subverted typical historical narratives by
decentring warriors in favour of their widows, and wrote that it "awards their ghosts a sense of
transhistorical agency through memory".[99] Jobling, Nesbitt, and Wong argued that McQueen's
description of Widows as more "triumphant" than Highland Rape actually indicates that the widows
are celebrating, not mourning, the deaths of their husbands.[100] Historian Timothy Campbell wrote
about Highland Rape and Widows in the coda to his 2016 book Historical Style, describing them as
counter-arguments to the notion that traumatic events in history must be experienced only in a state
of grief. In Campbell's words, "McQueen suggests, Culloden must first be resurrected or remade as
something other than tragedy in order to be historically impactful".[101]

Highland Rape and Scottish culture[edit]

Widows served as a counterpart to Highland Rape, which was also heavily inspired by Scottish
culture. In comparison, Widows has been described as less angry and more reflective.[1][20]
[30]
 McQueen himself reflected that Widows displayed a more positive view of Scotland, and related
the difference to his own mental health, saying "I'm in a much clearer head space now than I was
when I did the Highland."[23] The collections were discussed together in a 2014 BBC
Alba documentary, McQueen of Scots, which explored McQueen's Scottish heritage and its
influence on his designs.[102]
Art historian Ghislaine Wood wrote that the "two collections provided contrasting but cathartic
narratives on specific historical events ... and in many ways they reflect the complexity and drama of
McQueen's vision".[23] Author Katherine Gleason wrote that the use of tartan in Widows was "more
polished, softened with ruffles and embroidery".[45] To Lisa Armstrong, the restrained nature
of Widows, compared to the overt political rage of Highland Rape, was a sign of maturity.[47] Murray
Pittock viewed both collections as part of the evolution and worldwide dissemination of tartan since
the 1990s.[49]
While softer than Highland Rape, Widows is nonetheless interpreted as a statement about the
appropriation of Scottish culture in a wider British context. McQueen's use of tartan in Widows, and
the anglicised aspects of the designs, has been viewed as an exploration of the commodification of
tartan in high fashion and British culture.[7][15][103] Pittock noted that the wide-ranging visual elements
of Widows "symbolically commented on the destruction, misprision and exploitative reinterpretation
of Scotland for a global audience".[49] For American fashion editor Robin Givhan, the use of tartan
"hinted at the rebellion of the punk movement without embracing its anger".[83]

Gothic elements[edit]
See also: Illusion of Kate Moss § Analysis
Critics have described The Widows of Culloden as an exploration of Gothic literary tropes through
fashion, and some have compared it to specific works of classic literature.[104] Gothic fiction, as an
offshoot of Romantic literature, emphasises feelings of the sublime and the melancholy, but is set
apart by its focus on fear and death.[105][106] It is distinguished from other supernatural genres by its
focus on the present as a state inevitably haunted by the past: literally, in the form of ghosts, as well
as metaphorically, through memories and secrets.[106][107][108]
In McCaffrey's view, Widows exemplified melancholy – in the Gothic sense of "tensions between
beauty and heartache" – through its visual staging.[31] The stoic performance of the models
represented a dignified grief that he likened to "visions of gothic heroines stalking the candle-lit
corridors of an ancient castle".[31] McCaffrey called the illusion of Kate Moss an example of highly
staged melancholy, with every element contributing to the audience's emotional involvement.[31] Kate
Bethune presented a similar analysis, noting that the collection's sense of melancholy was
"consolidated in its memorable finale".[20] For Faiers, the models, and especially the Moss illusion,
represented "the ghosts of the past unable to contend with the march of fashionable progress".[7] The
Bird's Nest headdress and the Bird Skull headpiece from Looks 1 and 33 respectively have been
discussed as a set which represents the cycle of life and death, and the fragility of beauty.[67]
Discussing McQueen's proclivity for the gothic more generally, the professor of literature Catherine
Spooner highlighted his fascination with dark aspects of history. She noted that in several of his
most historical collections, including Highland Rape, Widows, and In Memory of Elizabeth Howe,
Salem, 1692 (Autumn/Winter 2007), the "distressed fabric; screen-printed photographs; fragments of
historical dress disassembled and reordered" reflect the disturbing aspects of history he drew on for
inspiration.[104] Author Chloe Fox wrote that McQueen had "mined the refined sense of an aristocratic
past" to produce the collection.[42] Literature professor Fiona Robertson found that McQueen's
Scottish collections and the historical novels of Scottish writer Walter Scott epitomised the Scottish
style of gothic by focusing on the country's "broken and self-alienated national history".[109]
The mood of Widows may be read as part of a shift towards darkness and melancholy as an
aesthetic in fashion, which some authors have argued was a response to global turmoil and
increased nihilism following the turn of the century.[86][110][111] Art historian Bonnie English noted that
McQueen was one of a number of major designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Yohji
Yamamoto, and Marc Jacobs, who produced sombre collections for the Fall/Winter 2006 season.
[112]
 In a 2019 New York Times essay discussing the cultural archetype of the melancholy woman,
writer Leslie Jamison described Highland Rape and Widows as emblematic of an "aesthetic of
suffering" in fashion.[113]

White gowns[edit]
Miss Havisham from Dickens' Great Expectations

The lace gown with veiled antlers – the Widow's Weeds – has provoked significant critical response,
much of which focused on the theatrical and animalistic effect created by the headdress.
[114]
 McQueen later said that the look "worked because it looks like she's rammed the piece of lace
with her antlers".[1] Lisa Skogh wrote that the veil over the antlers suggested a "dramatic bridal
crown".[115] Watt described it as "creating a phantasmagorical hybrid beast-woman".[26] Author Sarah
Heaton noted that the antlers "insist on the feminine relationship to the land, nature, and psyche".[116]
Both the antlered gown and the chiffon gown worn by Moss have been analysed as wedding
dresses. From this perspective, the antlered gown has been read as especially ambiguous: the veil
can be seen as entrapping, protecting, or concealing the bride who wears it.[71] It has drawn
comparisons to the wedding dress obsessively worn by the spinster Miss Havisham in the
novel Great Expectations (1861).[117][118]
Heaton, whose work focuses on the intersection between fashion and literature, described these two
long white dresses as "revisionist" wedding gowns that evoke the Gothic to subvert its limitations.
[73]
 In her view, the lace veil uplifted on the antlers of McQueen's ensemble is reminiscent of Miss
Havisham's wedding veil, but where Miss Havisham's veil is shroud-like and grotesque, the veil of
McQueen's design "suggests the strength of femininity".[119] The illusion of Moss, on the other hand,
evokes the Gothic trope of the barefoot "mad woman"; normally this figure would be confined to an
attic or asylum, but again McQueen subverts the expectation by displaying her to the public, making
her ephemeral and uncontained.[119]
Cultural theorist Monika Seidl considered the same pair of gowns from a more critical perspective in
2009, arguing that they framed their wearers "as trophy and ... as victim".[120] For Seidl, far from
presenting feminine strength, the antlers in combination with the gamekeepers' clothing referenced
earlier in the show evoked an image of the bride as a hunting trophy.[120] She viewed the Moss illusion
as presenting a contained "Wiedergänger" or vengeful spirit.[120] However, she described both
dresses as persuasive in the way they "destabilise the notion of a bride".[120]

Other analyses[edit]
The look of the feathered outfits has been compared to the Harpy, a bird-woman from Greek mythology.

Post-humanist theorist Justyna Stępień argued that McQueen's use of unusual silhouettes and
structures, particularly in Widows and Plato's Atlantis (Spring/Summer 2010), provoked an emotional
reaction in the audience and forced them to reconsider their perception of the human body.[91]
Analysing McQueen's tendency to incorporate and reinterpret styles from various cultures, Esguerra
and Hansen compared the use of Highland dress in Widows to the interpretation of Islamic
dress in Eye (Spring/Summer 2000). They found that Widows succeeded because of McQueen's
connection to Scottish culture, enabling him to present a collection with a strong narrative. In
contrast, they felt that Eye suffered from a lack of personal knowledge, and came across
as insensitive to the diversity of Islamic culture.[121]
In an analysis of fashion as a performative intersection of sex and gender, Paul Jobling, Philippa
Nesbitt, and Angelene Wong examined Widows as a "poetic text" relating to McQueen's identity as a
gay man, and his ideal of feminine empowerment through fashion.[92] They examined McQueen's use
of feathers as a subversion and expansion of typical gender roles which see men as predators and
women as prey. In their analysis, the models resemble bird-women in mythology, such as the
Greek Harpy and the Russian Gamayun, who are beautiful yet dangerous threats to "phallocentric
male power".[92] McQueen's use of animal motifs thus allows women to explore different types of
femininity and female power, without being constrained to any particular binary.[122] They further
argue that McQueen's combination of "masculine" tartan with "feminine" fabrics like lace is another
subversion of the gender binary, allowing the widows to step into a liberated role following the
deaths of their husbands.[100]
Writer Cassandra Atherton described using several McQueen collections, including Widows, in a
university-level creative writing course to teach a connection between poetry and fashion,
particularly how one can inspire the other.[123] Literature professor Mary Beth Tegan described
using Highland Rape and Widows together in 2021 as a teaching aid to engage university students
in the short story "The Highland Widow" by Walter Scott (1827).[124] She found that the "affective
glamour of Gothic tale and fashion spectacle ... roused my students' interest and sustained their
reflections" about both the story and the fashion.[125]

Legacy[edit]
Discussing being fitted for the dress by McQueen: "He had these gorgeous hands. And he just worked. And he was quiet and
unthinkably shy, didn't look in your eyes much, didn't want to, wasn't interested in engaging; it wasn't important for me to be his
friend. You know, he was very concerned about his work."
Sarah Jessica Parker, speaking to Savage Beauty curator Andrew Bolton, undated.[1]
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker attended the opening of the 2006 AngloMania: Tradition and
Transgression in British Fashion exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
wearing a version of Look 33 from Widows, the one-shouldered tartan dress. McQueen
accompanied her wearing a matching tartan great kilt.[1][34] Elizabeth McMeekin called it a "chic,
tremendously of the-moment" choice.[27]
Dresses from Widows have appeared in magazine photoshoots and editorials. Gemma Ward wore
Look 33 for an editorial fashion shoot in the July 2006 issue of Harper's Bazaar, styled with the
Spitfire headpiece from Look 44.[56][126] Moss wore the original dress from the illusion on the cover of
the May 2011 issue of Harper's Bazaar UK.[127][128] Look 47, The Widow's Weeds, and Look 48, the
chiffon dress with butterfly accessories, appeared in "Dark Angel", a 2015 retrospective editorial of
McQueen's work in British Vogue by fashion photographer Tim Walker.[129]
Fashion collector Jennifer Zuiker auctioned her McQueen collection in 2020, including at least two
pieces from Widows. A tartan dress, Look 30 from the runway show, sold for a reported $9,375, and
a floral ballgown, Look 50, sold for a reported $68,750.[130][131][132]
The Met owns the original Look 33 tartan dress ensemble with the sheer undershirt, as well as Look
30, another tartan dress.[133][134] The Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A) in London owns a variant
of the Kate Moss dress.[135] The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Australia owns 14 ensembles
and mockups from Widows, including Look 33 and Look 50.[136][137][138] The majority of these were gifted
by philanthropist Krystyna Campbell-Pretty in 2016 as part of a larger collection.[139]

Museum exhibitions[edit]

Portrait of Hugh Montgomerie, Later Twelfth Earl of Eglinton, John Singleton Copley (1780)

Several ensembles from Widows – at least five tartan looks, the pheasant feather dress, and the
Widow's Weeds – appeared in Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, a retrospective exhibition of
McQueen's designs shown in 2011 at The Met and in 2015 at the V&A.[1][140][141] The Kate Moss illusion
made an appearance at both versions of the exhibition. In the original presentation at the Met, the
illusion was recreated in miniature, but in the V&A restaging, it was presented in full size in its own
room.[b][143][144] The NGV displayed the collection donated by Campbell-Pretty in 2019 as the Krystyna
Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift. The exhibition included items from several McQueen collections,
including Widows.[139]
Items from the collection appeared in the 2022 exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos,
Muse, first shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and later in expanded form at the
National Gallery of Victoria.[145][146][147] Widows was placed in the Fashioned Narratives section of the
exhibition, which highlighted collections focused on stories, both original and historical.[148]
Mind, Mythos, Muse compared one sleeveless dress with high-necked ruff and gold beading from
the Widows collection to the ruffed and embroidered outfit worn by King Louis XIII of France in the
painting Portrait of Louis XIII, King of France as a Boy by Flemish painter Frans Pourbus II (c. 1616).
[145]
 Two tartan ensembles from the runway show were compared to a 1780 portrait of Hugh
Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton by John Singleton Copley. During the time the portrait was
painted, the wearing of tartan in Scotland was prohibited, except for soldiers and veterans, by
the Dress Act of 1746. In Copley's painting, Montgomerie, wearing tartan, poses triumphantly over
defeated Cherokee warriors. In reality, Montgomerie was not present at the battle being depicted,
which occurred during the Anglo-Cherokee War in 1760; nor was it a British victory. The exhibition
presents the Widows outfits as a counterpoint to the colonialist narrative in the portrait.[149]

Notes[edit]
1. ^ The song, called "Lee's Sarabande: Dealing for the Sarabande", went unreleased until it was used
in the 2018 documentary film McQueen.[57][58][59]
2. ^ In a review of the exhibition, media theorist Johannes Birringer refers to the hologram as "scaled
down, in a small dark room", but other sources state that it was full-size compared to the miniature
version presented at the Metropolitan Museum.[142]