“ This collection is inspired by the female anatomy, Queen Elizabeth I, the blood-red rose and Magdalena Abakanowicz, a transgressive and powerful artist who refused to compromise her vision. This show is dedicated to Lee Alexander McQueen, whose desire has always been to empower women, and to the passion, talent and loyalty of my team », Soberly wrote in his note of intent for Alexander McQueen’s spring-summer 2024 fashion show, artistic director Sarah Burton. After 26 years with the house, she leaves, without giving reasons. It was on Saturday 30 September 2023, at the Carreau du Temple decorated with vulvar textile sculptures by the Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, that this swansong of the designer took place in the form of a hymn to femininity, much celebrated by the founder of the house who replaced after his death in 2010.
Alexander McQueen’s Spring-Summer 2024 show was Sarah Burton’s last for the house
As always for a show, the first silhouette must set the tone for the entire collection, and it was Kaia Gerber (daughter of Cindy Crawford) who embodied it in an hourglass-cut little black dress, cut vertically along the chest and shoulders, like if it had just been torn apart. The slats run along it, while the blood red lacing structures it along the entire spine in the back.
Other songs follow that take up themes dear to the house, and also songs already covered in the past, presented this time in an even more radical version. Here, rigid leather bustiers with peplums, on skirts with horizontal fringes (the 2nd step, gold-colored, could evoke bile) that reveal the legs through their spaces. There, surgically cut black trouser suits, decorated with threads that form a blood red trail ending in fringes along one sleeve and leg (look 3).
Sarah Burton’s visceral tribute to Lee Alexander McQueen and women
A variation around the rose, the British emblem, is sometimes printed on a dress or bloody dress (7, 17, 19, 33 and 41), sometimes materialized by oversized petals placed vertically so as to create dresses-vulvas sublimated by the movement of the gait (40 and 42). Two passages (22 and 23) were feats of white mesh that formed a sort of flowery, welcoming and fascinating exoskeleton (22 and 23). The 37thAnd appearance was similar to the first, except that the vertical neckline was this time adorned with golden embroidery, as if this wound was bleeding gold, recalling the practice of kintsugi (Japanese method of repairing broken porcelain or ceramics using lacquer sprinkled with gold powder gold, to symbolize resilience), or religious representations. Finally, the top model Naomi Campbell, close to both the late founder and her successor, Sarah Burton, closed the show with this now famous peplum bustier over a skirt with horizontal fringes, this time completely silver.
It is therefore a tribute in gold, silver and visceral evocations that Sarah Burton pays to Lee Alexander McQueen but also to women for his last show at the helm of the Kering group house. Nobody knows where the British designer will go, much less who will replace her. To notice if a man replaced her, then all of the luxury conglomerate’s artistic management positions would be filled by men. Enough to make this hymn to femininity even more significant.
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
