Photos: Style.com
In January it was announced that the Alexander McQueen show would be cancelled and a small presentation would take place instead, since creative director Sarah Burton is nine months pregnant with twins. This could very much explain why only ten looks were shown; and, taking into account the incredible craftiness and exquisite details of the collection this might as well have been an Haute Couture showing.
It was pure ceremonial splendor, a majestic interpretation of ecclesiastic wear with a nod to Elizabethan times: rich white lace, pearl embroidered bodices and hoop skirts. Models' necks were wrapped in gorgets while diamond-patterned gilded cages enclosed their heads (they sort of reminded me of Fabergé eggs).
While some of Burton's religious frocks looked by no means sinless, like the black short embroidered dresses paired with pearl-studded fishnets, for instance; they added up to the drama in contrast to the more angelical, lavish gold embroidered corsets with voluminous white skirts and ornate ruffs. Darkness and light, the pure and the the impure, lustfulness and innocence, were always part of the Lee's complex dialectic.
Burton has not only summed up McQueen's heritage beautifully into a succinct, yet magnificent collection; like her mentor, she has evidenced once again her incredible ability for showmanship.
