In February 1997 Lee Alexander McQueen staged his epic fall/winter 1997-98 runway presentation for his eponymous label in a glass-roofed produce warehouse near London Bridge. Canadian model Stacey McKenzie walked the runway for “It’s A Jungle Out There,” and there have always been rumours floating around that she had butted heads with the designer at the casting for the runway show, and that McKenzie ultimately replaced one of the world’s most famous supermodels. Now, the rumours can be put to rest with the full backstory straight from McKenzie.
McKenzie posted a TikTok this week where she openly talked about the first, and only, time that she was cast to walk in an Alexander McQueen runway show. According to McKenzie, shortly before the February 1997 runway show for “It’s A Jungle Out There” took place she excitedly attended the casting, which was held in London. Things did not go smoothly.
“He’s sitting there and he has his people next to him,” says McKenzie. “I walked up in there and give my book [her modelling portfolio] and he starts laughing at me. So, I’m like maybe I’m doing something funny… I wasn’t doing anything funny.”
According to McKenzie, McQueen hadn’t even opened her portfolio when he began laughing at her and cried out: “What the F is this?”
“I was just so thrown off,” recalls McKenzie. “Is he joking? I’m trying to contain myself because this is Alexander McQueen.”
McKenzie recalls trying to hold things in and “be a good Jamaican girl” as McQueen repeatedly mocked her and pointed at her, saying: “What the hell is this? Haha…”
“What the hell is this? What is you!,” McKenzie finally responded when she reached her breaking point and began firing back at the designer. McKenzie says that after McQueen’s insults she cussed at him and then took her portfolio back from McQueen and walked out.
Needless to say McKenzie was shocked when her agent called her the next day to tell her that she booked McQueen’s fast approaching fall/winter 1997-98 runway show.
It’s A Jungle Out There
The clothes that came down the runway at McQueen’s fall/winter 1997-98 “It’s A Jungle Out There” runway collection were inspired by nature, but the title was a response to the criticism that he had received with his recent Givenchy showing (The January presentation of his first Givenchy haute couture collection garnered disappointing reviews). According to McQueen, inspiration for “It’s A Jungle Out There” came after he watched a nature documentary on the brutality of the African savannah and gazelles being hunted by lions. “That’s me! Someone’s chasing me all the time, and if I’m caught, they’ll pull me down. Fashion is a jungle full of nasty, bitchy hyenas.”
The day of the show McKenzie arrived at Borough Market, the glass-roofed produce warehouse near London Bridge in Southwark, London, where she and the other models who were to strut the runway went straight into hair and makeup for wild, teased manes and heavy black eye makeup that was meant to resemble gazelles. McQueen was running around backstage, frustrated because a famous model who was booked for the show was late.
McKenzie doesn’t reveal in her video who the missing model was, but (spoiler) it was Naomi Campbell. Throughout the years numerous McQueen biographers have pointed out that Campbell had arrived late for the show and was ultimately fired.
McKenzie says that at one point McQueen pointed at her and aggressively yelled “You, come here!” The Canadian model says that she kept her mouth shut this time and went over to McQueen where he instructed backstage dressers to give her the missing model’s outfit.
McKenzie had originally only been booked to wear one look down the runway, but thanks to Campbell’s no-show, and McQueen’s outburst, she got a little more time in the spotlight. McKenzie says that she started feeling herself and had a burst of confidence thanks to the last-minute switch up. That is until McQueen summoned her, whispered in her ear, and then walked away.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson,” McQueen whispered. “I’m going to teach you never, ever to curse at me or speak back at me ever again. You hear? This is going to be your first and your last Alexander McQueen show. You hear me?”
The show and the aftermath
McQueen’s fall/winter 1997-98 “It’s A Jungle Out There” runway collection started two hours late with techno music blaring throughout Borough Market and models walking the runway wearing garments made of fur, silk, leather and acid-washed denim. Additionally, some of the pieces featured antlers and taxidermy crocodile heads, human hair and iron jewellery. One strong-shouldered jacket (below right) featured an image of an Old Master painting, while others were embroidered with roses.
After the show the press raved. The Guardian’s Susannah Frankel proclaimed that McQueen’s is a name that will make fashion history.”
Frankel was right. The London show more than restored McQueen’s reputation, and the designer went on to produce a number of well-received collections for his own label and Givenchy. He left Givenchy in March 2001 after his contract ended, with McQueen arguing that the company had started to “constrain” his creativity.
On February 11, 2010, the world was shocked by the death of Lee Alexander McQueen. He was found dead at his London apartment – he had hanged himself in his wardrobe nine days after the death of his beloved mother, Joyce. Following his death, his longtime collaborator Sarah Burton took over as creative director of his label, a position she held until 2023. She is currently creative director for Givenchy. Seán McGirr has been creative director for the Alexander McQueen label since October 2023.
As for McKenzie? McKenzie never did walk another McQueen runway, but she found success with a number of other high profile brands, appearing in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Jean Paul Gaultier, and MAC Cosmetics, as well as gracing the cover and appearing in editorials of countless fashion magazines around the globe. In recent years she’s served as a judge on Canada’s Next Top Model, and Canada’s Drag Race.
Despite the conflict with McQueen, McKenzie says that the late British designer is still a favourite.
“His clothing is amazing and to this day he is my favourite, apart from Mr. Gaultier, he’s my favourite,” says McKenzie. “So, he’s [McQueen] my second favourite [laughs].”
“McQueen himself, the designer, he was amazing. But, that experience taught me a lesson,” says McKenzie, who was just starting out in the industry at the time. “Whether or not people are disrespecting you, you can call them out kindly, or in a kind way. Or, just walk away. Because at the end of the day only you know what you stand for and what you’re there for.”
Feeling nostalgic? You can watch Alexander McQueen’s epic fall/winter 1997-98 “It’s A Jungle Out There” runway presentation below.
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