GAINSBURY&WHITING  © Gainsbury&Whiting Productions Ltd. 2022 and 2025

OVERVIEW

Conductor & Artistic Director Rob Ames and Music Director John Gosling collaborate on a reimagining of the music from 20 years of Alexander McQueen shows, with a live  orchestral score and featuring a new performance by Michael Clark Dance Company. Exploring Alexander McQueen shows, film makers Eddie Wheelan and Douglas Hart will collaborate to create visuals alongside the performance.  

McQueen’s rich history of theatrical catwalk shows and collections that verse both tradition and subversion illustrate what Anna Wintour referred to as Lee’s “true genius”. Of  the 2011 Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,  NYC, Wintour told the New York Times; “We knew it would do well, but we didn’t know how  well...one of the mailroom guys told me how much he enjoyed the show. It just shows you how  fashion now reaches so many different people.”  

One of the top 10 most visited exhibitions ever at the Met, so popular it was extended by a week with early morning and nighttime hours added. Following its New York success the exhibition travelled to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London in 2015. 

An intrinsic part of the McQueen shows was the music, bold and striking in - live orchestral music will be integral to the reimagining of the celebrated body of work of Lee McQueen.  

The musical programme may include pieces by: Mozart, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Philip Glass,  Michael Nyman, Krzysztof Penderecki, Leonard Rosenman and Vangelis, alongside music from Pino Donoggio’s soundtrack from Don’t Look Now, Throbbing Gristle and The Beach  Boys. 

COLLABORATORS 

Conductor & Artistic Director Robert Ames As a conductor, curator and arranger, Robert Ames has been a key exchange agent between the classical tradition and contemporary music. Robert works closely and has premiered works with Philip Glass, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Mica Levi, JohnLuther Adams, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Jonny Greenwood, Anna Meredith and Steve Reich. Recent collaborations with musicians include Frank Ocean, Sigur Rós, Celeste, Jamie XX, Self Esteem and Radiohead. Ames co-founded the London Contemporary Orchestra.

John Gosling Longstanding collaborator of Lee McQueen and Sarah Burton, first working with Lee on his AW96 show Dante. On the collaboration Gosling commented; “for Lee the soundtrack was integral to the sense of theatre he was trying to convey each season...His ideas were so out there. He would always ask for music that didn’t exist so we would have to create it. It was always hard work – we would go around the houses and plan this crazy stuff but it always fell together at the last minute. Gosling first made his mark within the post- punk scene of the mid ‘80s, recording under the pseudonym Mekon, working with some of the most influential & forward thinking producers & artists including; Genesis P.Orridge as part of Psychic TV and OG junglist Goldie.

Dancer and Choreographer Michael Clark Hailed as “British dance’s true iconoclast”, Michael Clark is a defining cultural figure. Since emerging in the 1980s as a prodigy at London’s Royal Ballet School, he has remained at the forefront of innovation in dance. Clark collaborated with Lee McQueen on his SS04 show Deliverance inspired by the tragic dance marathon in Sydney Pollack’s Depression-era film, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and the Alexander McQueen ‘Black’ show which Michael Clark and Kate Moss opened with a dance performance (image above). Clark founded his own company in 1984 touring worldwide to perform at leading houses in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, as well as on its home stage at the Barbican. His productions repeatedly break new ground, provoking and electrifying audiences. Clark has collaborated with such compelling artists as Sarah Lucas, Leigh Lowery, Peter Doig and Charles Atlas, and musicians Mark E. Smith, Wire, Scritti Politti and Relaxed Muscle.

Film Makers Eddie Whelan & Douglas Hart Whelan began making experimental films and music in Athens, Georgia, under the name ‘Eddie the Wheel’. During a close collaborative relationship with David Sims, Whelan worked with Alexander McQueen. Eddie’s approach to form, texture and the filmmaking process itself produces highly original and evocative work. Hart started his career as the bass player for 80’s rock band The Jesus & Mary Chain evolving to direct music videos for other bands. Highly versatile and with a career that spans decades, Hart has produced an array of work over a multitude of platforms that are highly visual whilst keeping a strong focus on narrative. Hart turned his eye towards the short film medium commissioned by The Stanley Kubrick Foundation creating ‘Anywhere Out of This World’ an homage to the legendary filmmaker. Hart has collaborated with Miu Miu, Schiaparelli and Love Magazine.

film synopsis

The film is designed to have an arch in style that in 7 chapters reflecting elements from the

visual language of the McQueen shows; images of nature, robotics, pure colour and light.

The soundtrack will be performed live by orchestra

Key chapters include:

Chapter 1: Archival footage of Alexander McQueen’s shows, focusing on natural and industrial elements.

Chapter 2: Intimate close-ups of iconic McQueen imagery, including textiles, accessories, and more.

Chapter 3: Pre-filmed footage of Michael Clark’s choreography, presented on a larger than life scale, over the three screens.

Chapter 4: Distorted dance sequences, abstracting Michael Clark’s movements into shapes and forms.

Chapter 5: A mesmerizing sequence of pure colour, enhanced by mist for a dramatic effect.

Chapter 6: Fluid animations and lighting effects, featuring the orchestra in silhouette.

Chapter 7: A solo dance performance by Michael Clark, bathed in dramatic lighting.