Alexander McQueen S/S 2020 Paris

[perfect blue]

I won't comment on Sarah's work for now. I think she and both the McQueen brand got stuck in a weird situation after Lee abruptly passed away. Either you get someone to match Lee's technical prowess at construction & design or get someone who is commercially sensible for the brand. It was a chaotic time for everyone involved, I think... Literally no time to think about what the next option is because you are kind of in a freefall after your creative director passes in such a tragic way. Thought I think the more gracious thing to do would've been to close the brand.

Lee did state that he didn't want to his brand to continue without him if he ever passed or left fashion to do other things. He said his work was too close to him and he was right. His shows and fashion brand are linked directly to his stories and experiences through his life - he does have codes and design aesthetics but McQueen is more-so based on the person himself. I feel like it's almost the same situation with Martin Margiela when he left and allowed another person to take over his Margiela brand. The personality and soul of the brand kind of left with Martin. I would dare say even Helmut Lang falls into that predicament.

 

[Phuel]

In this current climate of accessible and sensible high fashion that’s being sold as a new feminine empowerment by someone like Maria Grazia, Sarah doesn’t offend me the way she seems to offend so many. Maybe it’s because her menswear offering has always been and remains so much stronger than her women’s could ever be, so it’s just pointless to bash her for attempting the impossible when she’s just doing her best to just keep up with the shadow of McQueen the man. As long as those skull-print scarves still make bank, then I suppose they’ll allow her to show these lesser collections for women.

And if you give her a chance— and never never never compare her offerings to McQueen the man's, there are a handful of truly gorgeous fairy tale pieces, stripped off their oftentimes silly styling (that’s the equivalent of Marge Simpson desperately re-sewing that Chanel suit she found at a discount outlet into a new design to impress her new rich friends everytime she met with them for lunch The all-black designs with the silver-thread and crystal/rhinestone embroidery are exquisite; the lace and ruffle bone-colour dresses have that nondescript prettiness to them that’s more an investment piece than a fashion statement. It’s just too bad that she seems to be influenced by Maria Grazia’s big, wide-belt-over-everything and flat sensible footwear. And those flat-heel boots are really gross with the raw wooden heels that look like they came from Urban Outfitters online exclusive. (dior and I seem to share the same intolerance for cheap-looking footwear lazily masquerading as a statement.)

 

[helmutnotdead]

what really amazed me was Nicole Phelps calling it "the most beautiful show of the season". Is she blind? Did she forget how spectacular Alexander Mcqueen shows used to be?
This isn't bad. It's just...there. What a waste of everything.

 

[perfect blue]

In this current climate of accessible and sensible high fashion that’s being sold as a new feminine empowerment by someone like Maria Grazia, Sarah doesn’t offend me the way she seems to offend so many. Maybe it’s because her menswear offering has always been and remains so much stronger than her women’s could ever be, so it’s just pointless to bash her for attempting the impossible when she’s just doing her best to just keep up with the shadow of McQueen the man. As long as those skull-print scarves still make bank, then I suppose they’ll allow her to show these lesser collections for women.

And if you give her a chance— and never never never compare her offerings to McQueen the man's, there are a handful of truly gorgeous fairy tale pieces, stripped off their oftentimes silly styling (that’s the equivalent of Marge Simpson desperately re-sewing that Chanel suit she found at a discount outlet into a new design to impress her new rich friends everytime she met with them for lunch The all-black designs with the silver-thread and crystal/rhinestone embroidery are exquisite; the lace and ruffle bone-colour dresses have that nondescript prettiness to them that’s more an investment piece than a fashion statement. It’s just too bad that she seems to be influenced by Maria Grazia’s big, wide-belt-over-everything and flat sensible footwear. And those flat-heel boots are really gross with the raw wooden heels that look like they came from Urban Outfitters online exclusive. (dior and I seem to share the same intolerance for cheap-looking footwear lazily masquerading as a statement.)

Very well said, this opened my mind honestly.

 

[Lola701]

McQueen experienced what a lot of brands experienced and are experiencing now when there’s an abrupt exit.

There’s always something interesting in the life of a company. The general public with an outside point of view usually think rationally that the top position must go to the most talented and promising person... But in the company, people always feel like it should go to the most deserving person, the number 2. Usually, that person is calmer, more discreet and that person also has a very comforting personality that will make easy for people to not compare her/his pit her against her/his predecessor.

We saw it many times in fashion. When YSL stopped doing RTW, Pierre Berge went to choose Alber Elbaz...Tom Ford was good but it was too much of a personality to handle.
When Tom left Gucci & YSL, they chose Facchinetti and Pilati...Both numbers two with different trajectories.
When Galliano left Dior, they chose the number two...
When Hedi left Dior Homme, the same. And it’s the same thing with Chanel and Fendi now.

Losing someone abruptly is hard and executives are making emotional driven decisions because they don’t want people to experience something hard on top of that.

The McQueen job wasn’t for Sarah but she deserved it because she held the team during the rough times.

I wouldn’t compare McQueen with Margiela tho...

But while I think Sarah is a great menswear designer and someone who understand craft, I think the problem with the brand McQueen is that they needs someone who shares a passion for fashion. Given the fact that they didn’t respected his wishes (it was impossible to do anyway), they should have went for it.

 

[perfect blue]

McQueen experienced what a lot of brands experienced and are experiencing now when there’s an abrupt exit.

There’s always something interesting in the life of a company. The general public with an outside point of view usually think rationally that the top position must go to the most talented and promising person... But in the company, people always feel like it should go to the most deserving person, the number 2. Usually, that person is calmer, more discreet and that person also has a very comforting personality that will make easy for people to not compare her/his pit her against her/his predecessor.

We saw it many times in fashion. When YSL stopped doing RTW, Pierre Berge went to choose Alber Elbaz...Tom Ford was good but it was too much of a personality to handle.
When Tom left Gucci & YSL, they chose Facchinetti and Pilati...Both numbers two with different trajectories.
When Galliano left Dior, they chose the number two...
When Hedi left Dior Homme, the same. And it’s the same thing with Chanel and Fendi now.

Losing someone abruptly is hard and executives are making emotional driven decisions because they don’t want people to experience something hard on top of that.

The McQueen job wasn’t for Sarah but she deserved it because she held the team during the rough times.

I wouldn’t compare McQueen with Margiela tho...

But while I think Sarah is a great menswear designer and someone who understand craft, I think the problem with the brand McQueen is that they needs someone who shares a passion for fashion. Given the fact that they didn’t respected his wishes (it was impossible to do anyway), they should have went for it.

I wasn't considering the team behind the McQueen brand and the internal staff, which I regret. I understand now the need to consider the number 2 person who is most deserving of being the successor in a brand. To the general public, a new and talented designer makes sense - but to the people who've been with the previous designer the longest, it would feel chaotic. Especially in the wake of a predecessor's death.

Sarah did deserve to take the role of creative director since she was probably the most loyal (and maybe senior) person next to Lee. I wonder if the idea of closing the brand was ever considered behind the scenes, since it was Lee's wish. That is too personal of a thing for me to pry into though. I respect Sarah and what she was able to do with the brand's situation. It had to be difficult for her the most to carry that weight.

 

[Phuel]

Frankly, they (Gucci Group?) kept the label going not as a consideration for McQueen’s team’s wellbeing-- they kept it going because the label was starting to make a profit. It was purely a business decision.

I understand that a show is a huge huge huge opportunity to enforce any brand’s exposure and presence, thus the horse and pony show that many designers may actually dread but are obligated to producing. And it’s actually a disservice to Sarah’s designs to be presented as a show. She’s clearly not a showwoman and has never staged a decent runway show. And the need to style her designs to enforce the McQueen aesthetic is painful to watch— and likely the reason why so many are instantly dismissive of Sarah’s efforts on first impression. Presented in a showroom however, on wooden mannequins, and stripped off any unnecessary McQueen-ish signature adornments, her designs would work so so so much better, with an emphasize on her ladylike tailoring and romantic easygoing accessibility. And we wouldn’t need to suffer those dumb footwear LOL

 

[dodencebt]

The shoes are really atrocious. I have a friend who has made a habit out of buying a pair of killer McQueen boots or sandals each season for a few years now and she was so disappointed that she didn't like anything this time. It's very likely that once she buys her seasonal statement shoe from another brand, she won't go back to McQueen next time.

 

[dior_couture1245]

She’s clearly not a showwoman and has never staged a decent runway show. And the need to style her designs to enforce the McQueen aesthetic is painful to watch— and likely the reason why so many are instantly dismissive of Sarah’s efforts on first impression. Presented in a showroom however, on wooden mannequins, and stripped off any unnecessary McQueen-ish signature adornments, her designs would work so so so much better, with an emphasize on her ladylike tailoring and romantic easygoing accessibility. And we wouldn’t need to suffer those dumb footwear LOL

Sarah’s styling and casting is truly atrocious. You’re right. She cannot put on a show to save her life.

Every single show of her’s now always has the same elements: wet, messy hair glued to the face, chain jewelry and thick black leather belts wrapped around everything to give a “HARD EDGE” to her whipped cream dresses, and a horrible combat boot to also reinforce that really “EDGY CONTRAST” of “MCQUEEN SIGNATURE HARD AND SOFT!” It’s so trite and simple-minded it makes my skin crawl!

And, of course, models today are next to worthless, so I agree...most brands could skip a show and put these on mannequins in a lookbook and it would be more compelling, if not at least less distracting.

But even still...I just don’t think she has a sophisticated eye. Yes - sometimes she’ll send out a genuinely beautiful gown - embroidered, sensual, intriguing - but for the most part she just sends out poofy dresses that would not look out of place on TLC’s “Say Yes To The Dress,” usually with each collection having something for bride, bridesmaids, and mother-of-the-bride alike!