Gods and Kings

Alexander McQueen and John Galiano, the rise and fall of the stars of the designer sky...

Uncover the lives of two famous men who stirred the calm waters of the fashion world and made an indelible mark on history. In Gods and Kings, author Dana Thomas does not hide anything, she depicts the fascinating and cruel world of the fashion industry as it is. Those who climb high often pay a high price, and the impact is often harsh...
More than two decades ago, two eccentric men with an eye for beauty and fashion burst onto the British design scene. John Galliano and Alexander McQueen wanted to start a fashion revolution and they succeeded. Each of them started out very differently. Galliano was an illustrator, while McQueen, less than a decade younger, worked as a tailor at Savile Row.
But when they got jobs and positions in famous multinational companies - Givenchy and Dior - the pressure became unbearable. Outwardly strong but privately bashful artists found it increasingly difficult to cope with the overwhelming demands of the fashion industry. Dior ended its collaboration with Galliano in 2010 because of his unacceptable statements. In the same year, Alexander McQueen committed suicide, three weeks before the next scheduled show.
Designers who did nothing by halves, with almost theatrical flamboyance, shocked stodgy British "bourgeois" society with their novel ideas and daring designs. Galliano brought the concept of the sensual hourglass silhouette to the fashion world and relished showing it off in fabulously romantic settings. McQueen, on the other hand, dazzled with his first groundbreaking collection at the age of just twenty-three, only to captivate the fashion world. In 2011, Kate Middleton wore a model from the Alexander McQueen fashion house to her wedding to Prince William.