In January 2001, we began work on some special pieces for the world famous fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his annual fashion show in London. His amazing idea was to create crystal accessories, which would be worn by a model on the catwalk in an extravaganza. Through discussions, he requested a Trilby hat, a pair of Eyeglasses, a Belt-Buckle and a Walking cane. The brief was to make them life-like, with fantastic light refractive qualities for the stage and capable of been worn.

The practical issues of how to keep the hat on the model’s head and how to overcome the real weight of crystal had to be overcome. Here, you can see the hat being crafted. Alexander McQueen provided hand-drawings of what he wanted which were meticulously followed in every detail. Our association with this event was a privilege and something which our craftspeople enjoyed doing over the eight weeks of this project's completion.

For the hat we received a physical sample of a Trilby hat to ensure that it would fit the model’s head. The Eye Glasses, Belt buckle and the Walking cane were sent in sketch form. Working as team each member took one item each and broke the drawing down to into its basic parts to allow them to rebuild a work of art.

Kenny works to resolve how we keep the hat on the models head as she takes to the catwalk. The final drawings for the belt buckle and cane arrived much to the delight of Pamela and Michael. This is the first time they have ever reproduced the human skull and leg bones as a cane! The Alexander McQueen Show was again a huge success in London and the prestigious designer was awarded the deserving accolade of British Fashion Designer of the Year 2001.