The McQueen Collection That Feels Too Real in 2025
Image credit; Alexander McQueen
Did you know that the first collection Lee McQueen designed for his brand after leaving Givenchy was about clowns?
Classic Lee McQueen, right? After being awarded Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards and leaving Givenchy in October, the first collection he designed was all about scary clowns.
A lot of people forget about his Merry-Go-Round Fall/Winter 2001 collection, which still feels incredibly relevant today—especially in light of what’s happening in the world. You know, creative directors getting fired, employees in fashion losing their jobs, this crazy economic slowdown. While some fashion brands are fighting hard to rebrand themselves in a moment of unprecedented stagnation, others are just trying to keep the attention of their current clientele by lowering production. So talking about this specific McQueen collection isn’t just an archive nostalgia call—it’s a reminder that fashion is cyclical, and right now, the cycle looks exactly like Merry-Go-Round Fall/Winter 2001: filled with scary clowns and golden skulls.
In 2001, the world was also going through a huge economic crisis. We had 9/11, tension in the stock market, and people weren’t consuming as much as before—very similar to what's happening today. Except now, we no longer have Lee McQueen to portray our current story. In that sense, I wouldn’t be surprised if this collection reflected McQueen’s views on the corporate world and injustice. He rarely spoke out loud about such topics, but he always made his message clear through his designs.
The runway show opened with childlike music, creating a scene that looked beautiful and peaceful—almost like how fashion appears from the outside, right? People who work in fashion will agree: from the outside, it seems like a dream world. Runway shows sell a fantasy, creative talent appears to be appreciated, and it feels like a safe space where everyone can be themselves.
Image credit; Alexander McQueem
But then, at Merry-Go-Round, the models emerged—wearing sexy patent leather pants (giving rebellious, fed-up-with-the-world energy) paired with undone, American flapper-style silhouettes, all set against a loud, hard-edged soundtrack. Some wore these undone, Napoleon-like suits, along with lots and lots of see-through fabrics. And to walk in a McQueen show, you had to play the part—so the models used the merry-go-round poles as if they were in a pole dance show. Watching it again today, in 2025, it feels like a reflection of just how perverse the world has become.
After the sensual showdown, it was time for the finale: models started appearing in eerie clown makeup, almost like a horror scene—but they owned the space. The last model walked out, dragging a gold, full-body skeleton attached at the ankle. It’s impossible not to wonder—was the clown meant to represent the boss and the gold skeleton the talent? After all, why else would the skeleton be made of gold?
McQueen loved playing with symbolism, and that’s something I truly miss seeing in fashion today. Everything feels so tense lately, and it’s crazy to think that McQueen was feeling the same tension in 2001. But even then, he delivered. He gave himself the freedom to say something.
Anyway, I think this McQueen collection is incredibly relevant in 2025.