The purpose of this study is to analyze the organic forms, expressions, and characteristics of Alexander McQueen’s fashion design and to present various materials for understanding and utilizing this organic design style. The criteria for organic design expressions and characteristics were classified through a literature review, and the organic design characteristics of Alexander McQueen’s fashion were then analyzed. The results are as follows: First, the morphological characteristics of nature’s forms are used as objects in Alexander McQueen’s fashions to represent organic characteristics. Second, abstraction through the application of organic forms means creating an abstract representation of the object being represented. Abstracting organic forms occurs by partially modifying the structural features of the human body to show characteristics or by visualizing these characteristics within the surface of the natural object. Third, continuity through the expression of the formation process of organisms is characteristic of the expression of the gradual growth of organisms; this reinterpretation is based on the concept that the internal elements of natural objects affect their external forms. Fourth, the structure of using natural materials, as well as regional and cultural characteristics, is shown in the designs through use of the physical characteristics of expressions and materials that use natural elements. Fifth, symbolism through subjective thinking implies that the element of nature that an object expresses is the element that appears in nature; this includes created organisms along with environmental factors. These characteristics are best demonstrated in fashion designs that express themselves through creativity.

In this study, the artistic background and formative nature of representative 19th century realist artists Gustave Courbet and Honoré Daumier were analyzed and applied in a fashion context. By displaying representational desires (necessary adhesions of man and society) in their work, they became characteristic matrixes of critical realism and to perceive critical realism. The purpose of the study was to apply the characteristics of critical realism to the contemporary fashion collections of Alexander McQueen. Research was conducted to analyze the characteristics that appear in the field of fashion and to review methods of expression and internal aesthetics displayed through various aspects of fashion design. Characteristics of critical realism were analyzed by researching the formativeness and periodical background of the paintings of Courbet and Daumier. Based on these characteristics, analysis was conducted to identify critical realism in the fashion collections of Alexander McQueen. Data and scope included fashion information sites, internet photo data, and video material. Critical realist characteristics were categorized into five types as follows: ‘The proper borrowing of extremely realistic subjects signifies’, ‘satirical reconstruction and narrative composition’, ‘antipathetic distortions and abject representations’, ‘critical reproductions based on technology’, and ‘the maximization of ambivalent sexuality’. It was concluded that the characteristics of critical realism (recognized by the common formation of Courbet and Daumier) also appeared in Alexander McQueen's fashion collection but were inherited in a form that transcended pictorial expression due to the overall difference in use of visual arts.