
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.28
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Piers Hampton
-
By:
-
Andrew Wilson
About this listen
When Alexander McQueen committed suicide in February 2010, aged just 40, a shocked world mourned the loss of its most visionary fashion designer.
McQueen had risen from humble beginnings as the youngest child of an East London taxi driver to scale the heights of fame, fortune and glamour. He designed clothes for the world's most beautiful women, including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. In business he created a multimillion-pound luxury brand that became a favourite with both celebrities and royalty, most famously the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a McQueen dress on her wedding day. But behind the confident facade and bad-boy image lay a sensitive soul who struggled to survive in the ruthless world of fashion.
As the pressures of work intensified, so McQueen became increasingly dependent on the drugs that contributed to his tragic end. Meanwhile, in his private life, his failure to find lasting love with a string of boyfriends only added to his despair. And then there were the dark secrets that haunted his sleep....
A modern-day fairy tale infused with the darkness of a Greek tragedy, Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin is soon to be adapted for film, directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years). This book tells the sensational story of McQueen's rise from his hard East London upbringing to the hedonistic world of fashion. Those closest to the designer - his family, friends and lovers - have spoken for the first time about the man they knew, a fragmented and insecure individual, a lost boy who battled to gain entry into a world that ultimately destroyed him.
©2016 Andrew Wilson (P)2018 Audible, LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
Timebends
- By: Arthur Miller
- Narrated by: Peter Marinker
- Length: 32 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arthur Miller's plays have held the world's stages for almost half a century. Among them are Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons, which have been read and performed countless times across the world. His memoir, Timebends, shows that the life of the man is as compelling as his plays. With passion, wit and candour, Miller recalls his childhood in Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1920s and the Depression; his successes and failures in the theatre and in Hollywood; the formation of his political beliefs....
-
-
A truly absorbing autobiography by one of America’s most important playwrights
- By Lynne W on 12-01-22
By: Arthur Miller
-
Gods and Kings
- The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 2011 John Galliano, the lauded head of Christian Dior, imploded with a drunken, anti-Semitic public tirade. Exactly a year earlier, celebrated designer Alexander McQueen took his own life three weeks before his women's wear show. Both were casualties of the war between art and commerce that has raged within fashion for the last two decades.
-
-
Captivating
- By kpaige on 04-15-15
By: Dana Thomas
-
Vivienne Westwood
- By: Vivienne Westwood, Ian Kelly
- Narrated by: Paula Wilcox
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivienne Westwood is one of the icons of our age. Fashion designer, activist, cocreator of punk, global brand, and grandmother--a true living legend. Her career has successfully spanned five decades, and her work has influenced millions of people across the world. For the first and only time, Vivienne Westwood has written a personal memoir, collaborating with award-winning biographer Ian Kelly, to describe the events, people, and ideas that have shaped her extraordinary life.
-
-
Mother of Punk
- By Rafael Castillo on 07-28-16
By: Vivienne Westwood, and others
-
Anna
- The Biography
- By: Amy Odell
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, an influential newspaper editor, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor-in-chief of Vogue, she never looked back.
-
-
WONDERFUL, SPLENDID, I LOVED IT!!
- By Liz Jardine on 05-13-22
By: Amy Odell
-
The Chiffon Trenches
- A Memoir
- By: André Leon Talley
- Narrated by: André Leon Talley
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During André Leon Talley’s first magazine job, alongside Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decades-long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, André moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild’s Women’s Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers (Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta). But as André made friends, he also made enemies.
-
-
Another case of author's narration not working.
- By CB on 05-21-20
-
Astor
- The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
- By: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society. The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic.
-
-
A family first made, then destroyed by wealth.
- By Barbara W. on 09-23-23
By: Anderson Cooper, and others
-
Timebends
- By: Arthur Miller
- Narrated by: Peter Marinker
- Length: 32 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arthur Miller's plays have held the world's stages for almost half a century. Among them are Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons, which have been read and performed countless times across the world. His memoir, Timebends, shows that the life of the man is as compelling as his plays. With passion, wit and candour, Miller recalls his childhood in Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1920s and the Depression; his successes and failures in the theatre and in Hollywood; the formation of his political beliefs....
-
-
A truly absorbing autobiography by one of America’s most important playwrights
- By Lynne W on 12-01-22
By: Arthur Miller
-
Gods and Kings
- The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 2011 John Galliano, the lauded head of Christian Dior, imploded with a drunken, anti-Semitic public tirade. Exactly a year earlier, celebrated designer Alexander McQueen took his own life three weeks before his women's wear show. Both were casualties of the war between art and commerce that has raged within fashion for the last two decades.
-
-
Captivating
- By kpaige on 04-15-15
By: Dana Thomas
-
Vivienne Westwood
- By: Vivienne Westwood, Ian Kelly
- Narrated by: Paula Wilcox
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivienne Westwood is one of the icons of our age. Fashion designer, activist, cocreator of punk, global brand, and grandmother--a true living legend. Her career has successfully spanned five decades, and her work has influenced millions of people across the world. For the first and only time, Vivienne Westwood has written a personal memoir, collaborating with award-winning biographer Ian Kelly, to describe the events, people, and ideas that have shaped her extraordinary life.
-
-
Mother of Punk
- By Rafael Castillo on 07-28-16
By: Vivienne Westwood, and others
-
Anna
- The Biography
- By: Amy Odell
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, an influential newspaper editor, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor-in-chief of Vogue, she never looked back.
-
-
WONDERFUL, SPLENDID, I LOVED IT!!
- By Liz Jardine on 05-13-22
By: Amy Odell
-
The Chiffon Trenches
- A Memoir
- By: André Leon Talley
- Narrated by: André Leon Talley
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During André Leon Talley’s first magazine job, alongside Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decades-long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, André moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild’s Women’s Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers (Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta). But as André made friends, he also made enemies.
-
-
Another case of author's narration not working.
- By CB on 05-21-20
-
Astor
- The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
- By: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society. The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic.
-
-
A family first made, then destroyed by wealth.
- By Barbara W. on 09-23-23
By: Anderson Cooper, and others
-
Grace: A Memoir
- A Memoir
- By: Grace Coddington
- Narrated by: Grace Coddington
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beautiful. Willful. Charming. Blunt. Grace Coddington’s extraordinary talent and fierce dedication to her work as creative director of Vogue have made her an international icon. Known through much of her career only to those behind the scenes, she might have remained fashion’s best-kept secret were it not for The September Issue, the acclaimed 2009 documentary that turned publicity-averse Grace into a sudden, reluctant celebrity. Grace’s palpable engagement with her work brought a rare insight into the passion that produces many of the magazine’s most memorable shoots.
-
-
Grace a Memoir
- By Placeholder on 02-13-13
By: Grace Coddington
-
Fashion Climbing
- A Memoir
- By: Bill Cunningham, Hilton Als - preface
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fashion Climbing is the story of a young man striving to be the person he was born to be: a true original. Contained inside this audiobook is an education in style, an effervescent tale of a bohemian world as it once was, and a final gift to the fans of one of New York's great characters.
-
-
Worth listening to while you're working.
- By Jennifer Baratta She/Her on 06-13-19
By: Bill Cunningham, and others
-
A Visible Man
- A Memoir
- By: Edward Enninful
- Narrated by: Edward Enninful
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Edward Enninful became the first Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue, few in the world of fashion wanted to confront how it failed to represent the world we live in. But Edward, a champion of inclusion throughout his life, rapidly changed that. Now, whether it’s putting first responders, octogenarians or civil rights activists on the cover of Vogue, or championing designers and photographers of colour, Edward Enninful has cemented his status as one of his world’s most important changemakers.
-
-
Discovery!
- By Introspective on 01-04-23
By: Edward Enninful
-
Karl Lagerfeld
- A Life in Fashion
- By: Alfons Kaiser
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karl Lagerfeld stylized himself into a living logo and a myth of the fashion world. In Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Fashion, journalist Alfons Kaiser, who knew Lagerfeld personally for many years, introduces listeners to the public and private life of the charismatic fashion designer. Kaiser explores the many eras of Lagerfeld’s life: the youthful outsider in the north German flatlands; the urbane genius in Paris; the tireless draftsman; the enthusiastic photographer; the passionate book collector; and the disciplined Prussian workaholic.
-
-
Disjointed and dull
- By Adderburycat on 05-25-22
By: Alfons Kaiser
-
The Cartiers
- The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire
- By: Francesca Cartier Brickell
- Narrated by: Hattie Morahan
- Length: 23 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Cartiers is the revealing tale of a jewelry dynasty—four generations, from revolutionary France to the 1970s. At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was “Never copy, only create” and who made their family firm internationally famous in the early days of the twentieth century, thanks to their unique and complementary talents.
-
-
Wonderful Experience to Listen to This Story
- By BB on 01-12-20
-
The Psychology of Fashion
- The Psychology of Everything
- By: Carolyn Mair
- Narrated by: Susan Osman
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Psychology of Fashion offers an insightful introduction to the exciting and dynamic world of fashion in relation to human behaviour, from how clothing can affect our cognitive processes to the way retail environments manipulate consumer behaviour. The book explores how fashion design can impact healthy body image, how psychology can inform a more sustainable perspective on the production and disposal of clothing, and why we develop certain shopping behaviours.
-
-
I was interested but it's academic, rather a snore
- By Arlene821 on 01-06-24
By: Carolyn Mair
-
House of Versace
- The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival
- By: Deborah Ball
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Versace. The very name conjures up images of outrageous glamour and bold sexuality, opulence and daring. All of course true, but only half the story. Versace is also the legacy of a great creative genius from a poor, backward part of southern Italy who transformed the fashion world through his intuitive understanding of both women and how a changing culture influenced the way they wanted to dress. House of Versace shows how Gianni Versace, with his flamboyant sister Donatella at his side, combined his virtuosic talent and extraordinary ambition to help create celebrity culture.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Brian M. Derrick on 08-26-19
By: Deborah Ball
-
The House of Gucci
- A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed
- By: Sara Gay Forden
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Sara Gay Forden
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the morning of March 27, 1995, four quick shots cracked through Milan’s elegant streets. Maurizio Gucci, heir to the fabulous fashion dynasty, had been ambushed, slain on the steps to his office by an unknown gunman. Two years later, Milan’s chief of police entered the sumptuous palazzo of Maurizio’s ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani - nicknamed “the Black Widow” by the press - and arrested her for the murder. Did Patrizia kill her ex-husband because his spending was wildly out of control? Or is it possible Patrizia didn’t do it at all?
-
-
Just read the cliff notes or wait for the movie.
- By Sunny White on 04-10-21
By: Sara Gay Forden
-
Bad Kid
- A Memoir
- By: David Crabb
- Narrated by: David Crabb
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discovering George Michael's Faith confirmed for David Crabb what every bully already knew: He was gay. What saved him from high school was finding a group of outlandish friends who reveled in being outsiders. David found himself enmeshed with misfits: wearing black, cutting class, staying out all night, drinking, tripping, chain-smoking, idolizing the Pet Shop Boys - and learning lessons about life and love along the way.
-
-
I wish I could give this audiobook 1,000 stars
- By Kari Delaney on 02-01-23
By: David Crabb
-
Authentic
- A Memoir by the Founder of Vans
- By: Paul Van Doren
- Narrated by: Tony Alva
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paul Van Doren is the founder of Vans - the shoe company beloved by skateboarders, creatives, and fans everywhere for its laid-back, colorful SoCal vibe, and famous for its people-oriented company culture. How did Van Doren establish a family shoe business that evolved into a globally recognized brand with annual revenue of more than four billion dollars? A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story.
-
-
Van Doren
- By Phillip V. on 05-18-21
By: Paul Van Doren
-
Betsey
- A Memoir
- By: Betsey Johnson, Mark Vitulano
- Narrated by: Betsey Johnson
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mention the name "Betsey Johnson" and almost every woman from the age of 15 to 75 can rapturously recall a favorite dress or outfit. They may also know her as a renegade single mom who palled around with Edie Sedgwick, Twiggy, and The Velvet Underground, or even as a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Betsey will take the listener behind the tutu and delve deeply into what it took to go from a white picket fence childhood in Connecticut to becoming an internationally known force in a tough, competitive business.
-
-
A "Feel Good" memoir of Success
- By Anna Rimalovsky on 08-20-22
By: Betsey Johnson, and others
-
Deluxe
- How Luxury Lost Its Luster
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Dana Thomas
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry don’t want us to know.
-
-
Great books, terrible narration
- By andrewlb on 06-09-21
By: Dana Thomas
What listeners say about Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- anna
- 01-21-21
Earnest and Voyeuristic
The author makes no apologies for Lee. The entire thing feels like a juicy second hand secret.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sylvester A Cetina
- 10-16-18
Great! Interesting and well researched
The book is fantastic. Great insight into McQueen’s life, and the best biography to date. Save for a couple of examples where the narrator mispronounces a few words, it is very enjoyable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 03-21-21
McQueen is made tangible in Wilson's masterpiece
Page by page Wilson draws you into the realms of tortured genius and creative passion!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CathyF.
- 10-16-22
Rags to Riches
I feel very bad for this tortured soul … he was definitely traumatized by sexual predators at a young age… his head was really messed with . I wish they could have explained more in depth exactly how his gifts came to light . There was a lot about his terrible personality quirks and very bad habits … abusing drugs and alcohol…, very very promiscuous sexually even with his HIV diagnosis he still delved deep into drugs and unprotected sex …. He was a very sad, aggressive, kind of mean person and a kind of gross person too ….. He was surrounded by fashion vampires of coarse so there’s lots of info on those freaks but we never really find out the extent of this guys gifts and genius the real origin’s . Very tawdry information here not a lot of deep material on his talent and it’s origins. I definitely have less of an opinion on him now because of this book .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Billye Kay
- 11-15-23
Lost in Translation?
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin is a very ambitious book. Author Andrew Wilson does a great job of detailing the reasons for the designer's untimely demise, which is what I think he set out to accomplish. My issue is with the focus of the book. I was hoping to gain more insight about the development and blossoming of McQueen’s creative genius. Many great artists and brilliant people of all kinds are difficult and develop mental health and addiction issues. I am less interested in the ways that McQueen acted out and more fascinated by the humor that all of his friends said he had and of course his artistic genius. I did learn a lot about the collections and I loved those passages of this book the most. Andrew Wilson describes the fashion shows and the events surrounding them in great vivid detail. The narration performance by Piers Hampton contributes strongly to this work.
I would recommend this book to a specific subset of Alexander McQueen fans. I would recommend this only to those fans who are not disturbed by graphic descriptions of sex and drug use. They say it is best not to meet one’s heroes. My admiration of the fashions remain after reading this, but it was hard to maintain my admiration of the designer himself. I hope that someone who was close to him will come forward and write about the other aspects of his life that were missed here.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!