Highland Rape

Although very poorly received critically and publicly, the Highland Rape is one of McQueen's most famous shows that solidified his name in the fashion world.

He and his three siblings were raised in a troubled home, witnessing and experiencing domestic abuse, financial struggles and more in a less fortunate neighbourhood of London's East End.

[7] In his early 20s, he approached the founder and teacher of the Central Saint Martins postgraduate fashion course, Bobby Hillson, in search of a job but was instead granted admission to the program.

[12][13] McQueen's designs for the collection were inspired by two major events in Scottish history, the Jacobite risings and the Highland Clearances.

Alongside the historical influences of the Jacobite risings and the Highland Clearances, McQueen derived inspiration for the collection from witnessing the domestic abuse his sister endured at the hands of her husband.

[5] The entire dress was ripped and cut with one notable cut-out sitting at the crotch making the garment appear as if it was about to fall apart at any moment.

Another particularly remarkable look was a simple, black, knit dress with a slim fit with one shocking element being an almost extreme v-neck featuring a torn slit from the top left shoulder to the middle of the torso revealing the model's entire breast.

[2][19] The elevated runway was both covered and lined with what appears to be dead shrubs and flowers which the models walked over, kicking the decor up, getting caught on their shoes.

[19] Some models imitated a military march with arms stiff and rigid, turning on the runway as if for inspection while others slinked down smoothly with a smirk on their face or even biting their lip seductively.

[19] “It thematises traumata in addition to the dialectics of pleasure and pain, eroticism and death, man and machine, love and brutality, victim and aggressor, as well as examining power and threat, desire and vulnerability” The public reception of Highland Rape has almost always been negative, both at the time of release and many decades later.