Spirit of Inquiry

Lee Alexander McQueen is held as one of the most impactful designers in fashion. In fall 2024, the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) hosted an exhibition, Lee Alexander McQueen & Ann Ray: Rendez-Vous, exploring the thirteen-year friendship and intimate creative collaboration between the late British designer Lee Alexander McQueen and French photographer Ann Ray, who McQueen personally selected to photograph his design process and the behind-the-scenes experience of his runway shows. Our students in WMCAT’s fashion design studio created original accessory pieces inspired by the exhibition.

The show Spirit of Inquiry is a culmination of their learning throughout the fall 2024 semester and their thoughtful engagement with history through the McQueen Exhibition. Each handbag had a hidden personal message that was obscured or visible in its final creation. The teen artists learned about applique, embroidery, pattern making, embellishment and prototype building. Students in the studio worked as a team to develop the final collection and tackle leather handbag construction.

The final collection was displayed at the fall Teen Arts + Tech Exhibition in December 2024.

“The McQueen collection really highlighted his love of movies. Being a fellow lover of movies I was like Ooh I can take this in a whole new direction. I want people to notice that it was inspired by a movie but it’s not too overt but it’s like ‘oh, wow movie reference!’ I was really excited to learn a new skill. It’s been interesting to learn about fashion and fabrics and textiles.”
— Vivienne Pierce, 12th grade WMCAT Teen Artist