Paris Fall 2013: Alexander McQueen

by The Daily Front Row

(PARIS) Alexander McQueen
Great things often come in small packages. Such was the case for Sarah Burton‘s magnificent but petite collection for Alexander McQueen. Staged at the Opéra Comique before a selected list of 150 VIP onlookers, just ten looks held court against the backdrop of the venue’s ornate gilded interior. While Burton’s maternity leave might have shrunk the size of the collection, it certainly didn’t diminish the grandeur. The theme? Burton looked to ecclesiastical wardrobes like communion gowns and nun habits, but the looks were anything but demure. Voluminous hoop skirts, cinched corseted waists, puff sleeves, and beaded diadems that caged the faces were paired with millstone collars that were the de rigueur neck ornamentation of the era. All of the above were in the mix, looking like they’d marched straight off the canvas of a Renaissance painting. One gown with an intricately beaded gold corset had a giant hoop skirt and lengthy bell sleeves, accented with a faint golden lattice pattern. Another frock was comprised of pure white off-the-shoulder lace, ruffled and finished off with a hoop skirt and a metallic corset cinching in the waist. On the pieds? White and silver studded boots. Edgy! All of the romantique McQueen costume dramatics were there; not to be left out was the late designer’s divinely dark taste for all things macabre. See: Studded (or perhaps beaded to resemble studs) mini-corset dresses that fell into long trains in the back with harness-like straps and beaded fishnets will likely swath tapis rouge royalty at the much gabbed-about upcoming punk-themed Met Ball. Although this collection was inspired by nuns and all things religieuse, its lavish regal air suggested it would be better fit for a queen.

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