All pieces of this ensemble have been crafted in Italy. For this collection, McQueen had cut and draped more than half the dresses himself. This ensemble was look 1 from the collection. It includes a bodice, skirt, and heels.
The bodice has a high neck with gigot sleeves, fitted waist, and exaggerated hips. It’s constructed of a stiff metallic and silk brocade expertly pieced to create a line of symmetry along center front zipper closure. The brocade resembles the scale-like back of an armadillo, represented in vibrant hues of green, black, yellow, orange, brown, gold, and silver. There are decorative tucks along the proper right and proper left hips and back shoulder blade area to create a dimensional and sculptural silhouette.
The mini skirt is constructed of the same stiff metallic and silk brocade fabric with coordinating vertical tucks across proper right and proper left hip area to create dimension and structure. There are yellow enamel coated hexagonal paillette beads sewn densely to the proper right and proper left front hips, extending across the center back waistline and seat area to resemble the scale-like back of an armadillo.
The iconic high heel platform shoes are covered in a metallic and silk brocade in a symmetrical pattern meant to resemble the back of an armadillo. They have a unique bulbous curvature to the vamp and exaggerated platform. The height of the heel gives the shoe its iconic armadillo silhouette. There are zipper closures at the center back of the heel and along interior sides. The interior body and insole are lined in leather.
This was the last collection ever designed and crafted by McQueen himself.
Custom version of Look 1 from “Plato’s Atlantis Collection,” Spring/Summer 2010. Worn by Naomi Campbell for Fashion for Relief, 2010.
Custom re-issue version of Armadillo boots from “Plato’s Atlantis Collection,” made for Naomi Campbell.
Collection of Naomi Campbell
Magdalene Frąckowiak wore look 1 of the Armadillo ensemble for its runway debut in October of 2009 in Paris.
Naomi Campbell wore the bodice and skirt for the Fashion for Relief Haiti 2010 held in New York.
Similar dresses and shoes from the Spring/Summer 2010 collection are in the collection of:
- The Museum at FIT, New York
- The Metropolitan Museum, New York
- The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
S. Stanfill, E. Murray, Naomi: in Fashion, New York: Rizzoli, 2024, pp. 230, 231, 232, 233, 235
A similar model of the Armadillo ensemble was featured in:
A. Bolton, T. Blanks, S. Sundsbø, S. Frankel, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, New York: Metropolitan Museum Of Art New York, 2011, pp. 184, 185. (dress and shoes)
R. Fairer, Alexander McQueen: Unseen, London: Thames and Hudson, 2016, front and back cover (dress)
T. Tierney, Alexander McQueen Fashions Re-created in Paper Dolls, New York: Dover Publications, 2011, plate 15 (dress and shoes)
A. Deniau, Lee Alexander McQueen: Love Looks not with the Eyes, New York: Abrams, 2012, n.p (shoes)
R. Bretana, Shoes, New York & London: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2021, p. 262 (shoes)
P. Farameh, For the Love of Shoes, Kempen: TeNeues Publishing Group, 2013, pp. 30, 31 (shoes)
G. Bailey and E. Hummer, Harper’s Bazaar 150 Years: The Greatest Moments, New York: Abrams, 2017, p. 295 (shoes)
Plato’s Atlantis collection as a whole was mentioned in:
D. Thomas, Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, New York: Penguin Books, 2016
C. Wilcox and J. Lister, V&A Gallery of Fashion, London: V&A Publishing, 2013, pp. Table of content, p. 168, #182 (dress)
The Armadillo ensemble or a similar model was featured in:
- New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, May 4 – August 7, 2011. (dress)
- London, Victoria and Albert Museum. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, March 14 - August 2, 2015. (dress and shoes)
- London, Victoria and Albert Museum, NAOMI in Fashion, June 22, 2024 - April 6, 2025. (dress and shoes)
Materials:
Shoes: Silk and metallic thread, leather interior
Bodice and skirt: Silk and metallic thread jacquard weave, enamel coated palliette beads, silk chiffon lining
Measurements:
Waist: 24”
Bust: 30”
CF length neckline to hem: 20”
Center back length neckline to hem: 23”
Sleeve inseam: 19”
Alexander McQueen label on metal plate stitched onto the neck of the dress.
Alexander McQueen stamped onto the back of the heels.
A spectacular piece from the last flowering of the genius that was Lee McQueen, this ensemble is really the culmination of so much in his artistic career, akin to the opening note of his swan song.
