There’s nothing accidental about the way pain looks when it’s dressed in McQueen. Some stories are better told both in words and fabric, and Rosalía’s “Berghain” is one of them. Sacred Hearts hanging over a bed frame, the British Opera trailing her like intrusive thoughts, white clothing being washed as if each thread carries away memory and sin, sugar cubes slowly surrendering to heat, Davinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” watching silently, Björk appearing as a bird and a delicate witness of the passage of time, it unfolds rather like a vision than a music video. A ritual of sound and image, “Berghain” is a blend of techno and classical textures, layered in three languages over an atmosphere of tension and release. Every frame of Nicolas Mendez’s direction feels intentional, cathartic, yet emotionally charged.
McQueen’s vintage silhouettes and Jose Carayol’s styling transformed the visuals into a study of intensity, with the first glimpse being a black, belted dress with a romantic top and leather detailing from Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2002 collection. Moments later, the camera dips to the floor, revealing dark turquoise heeled sandals with beads, straps and crosses from the house’s Spring 2003 show. A grey top with an attached fringed scarf follows, a piece from Lee Alexander McQueen’s Spring 1997 Givenchy runway. The sequence closes with a white tank top, drenched in buttons, from McQueen’s Spring 2003 show, every seam alive, carrying the weight of history into the frame.
“Sein blut ist mein blut” (“His blood is my blood”) Rosalía sang, turning music into a practice of self-examination decades after Lee McQueen exposed himself through his artistry, “There’s blood beneath every layer of fabric”. Their connection feels ignited. We miss him dressing fear, desire and mortality, turning fashion into raw emotion, yet luckily she gives voice to all McQueen stood for, performing a confession all over again.
“Berghain” reminded me that fashion at its purest, can still hold soul. And maybe that’s why she chose McQueen, because both knew how to turn wounds into beauty, making art from vulnerability.
