Thursday 19 January 2012

Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2012/13





"They are kind of velvet wheels, I suppose!" laughed Sarah Burton as she explained how an extravagant, sensous bounce and swish got into the shape of her skirts for pre-fall. A nipped waist and a circle skirt is, of course, one of the template silhouettes Alexander McQueen left as a legacy, but this season, when many designers seem to be thinking about full skirts, Burton's made an entire centerpiece out of them. The exxagerated fullness - swinging below a belted mid-section - is there in hyper-feminine ballerina-length dance dresses, in stately princess coats, and even in jackets where it foms a peplum faintly reminiscent of a Renaissance prince's doublet. From he poetic ball dress to more partical hourglass tunic over narrow pants, the collection is essentially an essay on that one shape.
























But how did she get here? "By researching folk art and Romany art, which then became Spanish, and then it all somehow linked up with Victoriana and fifties couture." When written down, that kind of fashion allusiveness can be hard to follow, but seen up close the result is a head-spinningly rich feast of tactile fabrics and intensely worked embroideries of velvet bobbles, smocking, and curliqued appliqués. The potential overload of detail is subdued by a darkly subtle palette of burgundy, aubergine, and oxblood red, overlaid with black baroque cutouts on a shearling coat or a sleevless full-skirted dress.

Burton also spends a lot of time looking at the Renaissance and Elizabethan history of art. She will come away from looking at Flamish still lifes with flowers and decide to place giant parrot-tulip jacquard motifs on a dress. Or, she will absorb the pristine, delicate ruffs in Tudor portraiture, and make them come out as airy-sleeved poet blouses or the white, pleated collar edging a black velvet jacket. Couture-like techniques are lavished almost without limit: A tufty coat is a melange of degradé astrakhan, mink and fox dyed aubergine.












Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories

Photos Courtesy of © Alexander McQueen








2 comments:

Shagun said...

Enchanting couture by Sarah Burton. I admire the rich, Victorian look..a romantic feel.My favorite is transparent, soft black gown with colorful, floral motif.A brilliant editorial, dear Andrea!!!...Regards, Shagun

Agata Panucci said...

FANTASTIC post !! *-*
Follow each other?? :) http://saporedimoda.blogspot.com
KIss kiss :)

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