Alexander McQueen was a fashion designer. Brought up in the East End, the youngest of six he conquered the world of fashion on his own terms. McQueen was a tortured soul, abused as a child he created women in his costumes to be scarey, to protect against men.

The documentary film gives the impression of a sweet man who was a whirlwind of talent, but eventually the whirlwind turned on him and he became very unhappy. He starts with being driven to succeed. This drive never leaves him. He became successful working for Givenchy and his own fashion house. So the pressure became unbearable.
Was it drive and ambition that consumed him? Like successful driven people the drive has a life of its own. The side event is the success, along with fame and fortune. The problem is what to do with the drive once the success is achieved. The drive remains intact immune to the success.

Freud’s drive theory was the idea that an imbalance is detected by the psyche and creates a drive to correct the imbalance. So if the imbalance is not addressed the drive remains intact. We all have this to some extent. Driven to succeed at work or play. It shapes our lives.

Conveniently today success usually means the filling of space. Time is money. No Time. This creates an environment where there is no time to correct the imbalance. So the drive pushes on. Filling up time. Creating pressure. More pressure. Until ……

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