Alexander McQueen Resort 2013

[Prairie]

LONDON, June 22, 2012
By Tim Blanks

David Bowie's presence in the world of music may have faded, bar the occasional extravagant repackaging of a classic album or two, but he has taken on a second life in fashion, name-checked more than any other influence over the past few years. Sarah Burton can claim a personal connection. She worked with the man when Lee McQueen designed a Union Jack frock coat for the cover of Bowie's Earthling album in 1997. But for the McQueen Resort collection, Burton went much further back, to Bowie at his most creatively and visually extreme in the mid-seventies.

It was extremity she was after, too. "I wanted to bring everything back to the body," Burton said at a preview in her London studio. "The proportions are extreme: high waists, an elongated leg, a peaked shoulder. There's a harder, more precise, masculine edge that's a reaction to the roundness and the sickly-sweet femininity of the last collection." And so, unsurprisingly, the anchor of the new lineup was the trouser suit, in a masculine/feminine iteration that led Burton inevitably to David Bowie's door. (Check the back cover of Hunky Dory if you're curious.) She acknowledged that, because the collection was the most rigorous she'd ever created, it was more difficult to make it beautiful, especially given that, however "sickly-sweet" her last outing might have been, it also ravished the eye to a degree that is rare in ready-to-wear. It was a challenge she addressed with her usual facility with extraordinary fabrics and embellishments.

Art Deco was an inspiration. A gilded metallic jacquard was cut into a long, lean suit. Another suit was painstakingly embroidered with silvery dots, as iridescent as the wings of the dragonfly motif that was also on loan from the Deco era. An equally gilded symmetrical pattern of cicada wings echoed the Egyptomania that followed the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. Never say that a McQueen collection isn't a visual education of some kind. (Come to think of it, that's exactly how each new Bowie incarnation functioned, too.) But if that sounds oh-so serious, the effect was as much Glam Rock as Gilded Age (and that was even before we got to the pieced snakeskin).

The most rigorous parts of the collection were the tailored black pieces. Look closely, however, and their lapels and piping were actually trompe l'oeil encrustations of beading. Still, they were demandingly spare. Hard looks for hard times, perhaps. The eveningwear was long and lean, too. Which is where the Burton Effect came to play, as an extravagant, yes, hyper-feminine counterpoint. A strapless jumpsuit, lavished with avian and floral embroideries, had a forgiving volume. Burton called it a "banana leg." Even more winning: another jumpsuit, also strapless, in a drape of fiery orange jersey so voluminous it threw shade on Bowie's most extreme Kansai Yamamoto outfits. The only possible accessory? The shoes whose rounded transparent heels were filled with glitter.

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[Prairie]

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[Prairie]

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[Deleted member 116819]

WOW!!! Great collection, so tailored and well made. This looks phenomenal!
Excellent mood, color palette and inspiration!

 

[thejarc]

Idk if there has been some changes in the design team or somebody has watched too many 70s future movies on crack but this is definitely ****ed up. I liked the direction of the first 3 sarah collections, they seemed much more authentic than this glitzy mess.

 

[Morphe]

What a beautiful collection, I would love to see the clothes in HQ!

PS. People in the McQueen team must've been listening to a lot of early Bowie lately.

 

[Peregrina_RZ]

This is SO good! I will never comprehend how come she saves the worst for the main line, tho'...

 

[LabelWhore4]

This is a very streamlined, smart collection. I'm loving most of the silhouettes and prints but some are truly hideous. Not bad Sarah; but i'm still not completely sold on your aesthetic.

 

[Chanelcouture09]

Wonderful! Every collection I feel like she's coming more into her own.

However, the first 6 looks do remind me of Armani Privé Spring 2010.

 

[christian zh]

There're no words to describe this

 

[mcgowan]

i loved the first two collections burton did and then i started to worry - this however, is definitely back on track. excellent!

 

[Machinegumm]

Much better than her last collection. YES to that streamlined tailoring.

 

[CommanderTMugler]

Wonderful! Every collection I feel like she's coming more into her own.

However, the first 6 looks do remind me of Armani Privé Spring 2010.

That was the first thing that came to mind, none the less, I like this, the resort collections for McQueen always seem to be better than the RTW. This is miles above the fluffy mess from the last show.

 

[ALAUU]

Holy crap, the last dress is STUNNING! I love this so much! I can totally picture someone like Tilda Swinton rocking every piece.

 

[TianCouture]

Wonderful collection, even though I could do without the orange dress...

 

[seacow]

people actually like this crap? why are we supporting burton? SHE IS BUTCHERING MCQUEEN'S GOOD NAME

 

[YoninahAliza]

Oh my... this is a pleasant surprise. I really like this collection, it's totally different then Sarah's previous work, and I like the extremity of it. And those last few dresses... so covetable... can't wait to see who get's to wear them.

 

[Spike413]

This woman works wonders with a pre-collection, I'll give her that. I love the drama, the intentionally over-the-top spirit of this. I'm not generally a fan of such extremely flared pants, but once you pair them with a sharp shoulder I start to change my tune.

Could live without some of the evening gowns, which actually aren't anything spectacular this time around, but still, not bad.

 

[reese06]

Really reminds me of some of the work McQueen did for Givenchy. I'm glad that she's moving back to the sharper tailoring and lines that McQueen is known for. I do think some of the dresses are a bit too "pretty" if that makes sense and they look more Valentino or ODLR than McQueen.

 

[thiago:)]

^^ I agree. When it comes to pre-collections she does it specially well. This is definitely my favorite look, so chic and clean, and I really love how it works as a whole. I'm not a fan of those belts, though.