Documenting McQueen returns with Episode 5, exploring the history of the harness from Alexander McQueen’s early collections to its continued influence today.
The harness has long been one of McQueen’s most recognisable signatures, carrying ideas of identity, power and subversion through the house’s collections. Now, the latest episode of Documenting McQueen goes back into the archive to explore how this defining design code first took shape.
Episode 5, titled ‘The Harness’, follows fashion historian and Central Saint Martins professor Alistair O’Neill as he traces the design from its early appearances in Alexander McQueen’s collections. The journey begins with Spring/Summer 1999 ‘No.13’, before moving through the tailoring of Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2002 and McQueen’s first menswear show for Spring/Summer 2005.
What makes the episode particularly interesting is the access to the house’s archive. Original garments are shown in close detail alongside never-before-seen sketches, offering a closer look at how the harness developed from an early collection detail into one of McQueen’s most enduring visual signatures.
The harness has continued to appear throughout McQueen collections, evolving with different silhouettes and interpretations while retaining the tension between structure and freedom that has long been central to the house.
For anyone fascinated by Alexander McQueen’s design language, ‘The Harness’ offers a rare look behind the finished runway image, revealing the drawings, garments and ideas that helped establish one of fashion’s most recognisable codes.
Documenting McQueen Episode 5: ‘The Harness’ is available to watch now on the McQueen website and YouTube channel.
