After learning about this show from @WorldMcQueen on Instagram, I instantly became excited. The images posted were dark showings of the sky, moss in the woods, florals, and bright blue butterfly wings. I thought of a fierce and magical woodland creature. Very "Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection", Lee Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 2009 collection. But when I viewed the actual collection, my thoughts were quite distant from my predictions. The first piece I actually saw was a white dress that was embroidered with various symbols of the crescent moon and stars. It seemed like the witches of Salem were making a more historically correct comeback from the Fall 2007 collection. I kept looking and noticed once again,what I like to call "Sarah's Silhouette". That is, thick sleeves, rounded shoulders, and knee length ends of dresses and skirts. I felt like there was something that Sarah Burton keeps doing to the Alexander McQueen brand that the late Lee McQueen never did: made the clothes soft and sweeter for a woman's frame. Lee McQueen had always stated that he wanted the women he dressed to be feared, giving them a domineering frame with sharp tailoring and edgy embellishments. This collection had the edgy-ness needed for it to be called an Alexander McQueen collection. However, in this collection I see a covering up of Burton's women. Immensely thick overcoats and dresses were covered with hand-added feathers and furs of various animals. One example was the well-talked-about coat made of the black and white fur of a skunk. The hair was braided, the makeup soft with the exception of the "owl-eye" fur eyebrow attachments. The set was an uneven prairie. What I got: Native Americans and colonists in America during the 1600s. Very interesting, I think, for a British brand during Paris Fashion Week to showcase a historical yet contemporary collection with this possible influence. Sarah Burton actually said that this collection was a children's story, and that made sense. Black velvet boots matched with white lace socks and school-girl silk ties gave each outfit a naïve look. The schoolgirl's daydream of Native American princesses and Pilgrims morphed into colorful and futuristic punks with their laced boots going knee high, and outfits more glitzy and sophisticated, if that makes sense. Bottom line: the clothes were dreamy. The printed coats, fluffy collared dresses, and feathered and white laced gowns were a great contrast from last season's collection of futuristic African tribal influences. To me, and I feel like I've stated this before, Alexander McQueen, whether it's under Lee or Sarah, could and can do no wrong.
Photo Credits: Style.com
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