SAME FERRARI, DIFFERENT MCQUEEN
Gary James McQueen recreates the iconic Alexander McQueen Time Out kiss with Karen Ferrari as he unveils new artwork The Flayed Angel and silk scarf collection.
Gary James McQueen is a British artist and designer whose work brings together fine art, fashion and digital technology. Known for his darkly romantic imagery and innovative lenticular artworks, he combines illustration, photography, technology and light to create immersive visual narratives.
The nephew and former creative collaborator of Lee Alexander McQueen, Gary draws on a longstanding fascination with storytelling, fantasy, anatomy and the natural world. Ornate skulls, delicate insects and creeping flora recur throughout his practice, alongside imagery exploring beauty, mortality and transformation.
Having worked alongside Lee Alexander McQueen and served as Head of Menswear Textiles at the fashion house, Gary has gone on to establish his own distinctive creative practice spanning art, fashion and design. His work has been exhibited at institutions including London’s V&A and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as galleries internationally.
Photo Credit: Gabrielle Bondar Chernavskaya, Castle Fine Art
On Tuesday, more than two decades after Karen Ferrari was captured in an unforgettable photograph licking the face of Lee Alexander McQueen, the model recreated the moment, this time with McQueen’s nephew, artist and designer Gary James McQueen..
The new image, was captured at W1 Curates in Mayfair during an evening celebrating the launch of Gary James McQueen’s latest artwork, The Flayed Angel, created in collaboration with Castle Fine Art, alongside the unveiling of his new silk scarf collection.
Ferrari, who has modelled for both Lee and Gary, revisited the playful pose from the celebrated Time Out photograph, with Gary stepping into his uncle’s place in front of the camera. The resulting portrait pays homage to an iconic moment in British fashion while bringing together two generations of the McQueen creative legacy.
Photo Credit: Gabrielle Bondar Chernavskaya, Castle Fine Art
The event welcomed guests from across the worlds of art, fashion and culture, including Lee Alexander McQueen’s sister Janet, alongside guests such as Karen Ferrari, DJ Fat Tony, Irem Deniz, and Sarah Faberge to celebrate Gary’s work spanning fine art, fashion and textile design.
Gary worked alongside his uncle for a number of years at Alexander McQueen, where he became Head of Menswear Textiles. The experience helped shape his approach to image-making and storytelling, particularly Lee’s ability to bring together seemingly disparate references to create powerful visual narratives.
Reflecting on his uncle’s influence, Gary said: “The way Lee built stories and how he combined ideas from different sources really influenced me.”
Created in collaboration with Castle Fine Art, The Flayed Angel continues Gary’s exploration of vulnerability, strength and transformation.
Inspired by an 18th-century anatomical illustration, the work transforms the exposed human form into a striking symbol of resilience. A golden spine emerges through sculptural crimson forms, creating an image that looks beyond the surface to explore the relationship between fragility, beauty and strength.
The imagery previously provided a creative foundation for Gary’s Guiding Light collection and has now been reimagined as a mixed-media limited edition. Incorporating blind embossing to introduce an additional tactile dimension, The Flayed Angel brings one of the artist’s longstanding visual references into a new fine-art form.
The launch also saw Gary unveil his new silk scarf collection, returning to his roots in textile design and bringing together two central strands of his creative practice: fashion and fine art.