British couturier Alexander McQueen challenged common notions of beauty and fashion with runway collections as theatrical as they were shocking. Lights flash as women in flowing, striped burqas fly over a strip of sharp nails. This is not a scene from a surreal arthouse film, but the finale of one of Alexander McQueen’s controversial fashion shows. The political comment and sinister nature of his spring/summer 2000 show Eye was typical of McQueen: the clothes are...