Alexander Lee McQueen is a brand that has an emotional connection to the fashion industry. It has raised a whole generation of fashion creatives who were students of the craft. This weekend, Alexander McQueen presented its latest spring/summer 24 collection titled Anatomy II. It would also be the last collection for its creative director, Sarah Burton, who had steered the brand through uncertainty and into prosperity. As fashion enters a new period of change and uncertainty, we should celebrate her tenure and an excellent full stop to her legacy.
Sarah Burton joined the McQueen team in 1997 after graduating from Central Saint Martins. She quickly climbed the ranks to become the head of womenswear in 2001. Burton became the creative director in 2010 after Lee’s untimely passing. In the past 13 years, she has made the brand her own. Burton has ultimately spent her entire 26-years-long fashion career at McQueen. This is one of those rare instances in the modern fashion climate where we witness someone work their way up the ranks to the top.
Over the 45 looks presented, we see a display of opulence, structure and a dash of cruelty. As a follow-up to the AW23 Collection, themes of clean-cut lines continue, along with gory references to the inner workings of our bodies interpreted through tailoring. Blazers and trousers, sometimes slashed or moulded, are cut with surgical precision. Corsets with sculpted hips are fused to the torso. Embroidery mimicking blood and vasculature culminating in an illustrated silk georgette slip dress is savagely beautiful. This hasn’t always been the world we have seen from Sarah Burton.
Alexander McQueen has always been about the empowerment of women. Lee showed and embraced all different kinds of femininity while often rooted in the macabre. From the sensuality of the bumster to the elegance of a gown to tailored suits, McQueen was all about creating this armour for women. Burton managed to continue this legacy in her image. As fashion historian and writer Laird Borrelli-Persson eloquently said: “Burton seemed to be starting from a calmer, more grounded place. That’s not to say her work couldn’t be hard-edged or dark, but it was as if she had opened the windows at the house of McQueen to let in the light and the wind.”
The collection uses the rose as an antidote to the harsh disposition of the blood. From the image of the rose by photographer David Sims on simple silk slip dresses to degrade sculptural rose petal gowns in gazar, we find a softness to feel. Crocheted knits mimicking our soft insides and an asymmetric cape dress inspired by the work of Magdalena Abakanowicz feel closer to the idea of Burton’s tenure. A softness that was still perverse was present in the armour of living the brand presented.
Usually, when a brand loses its founder, it can either die or thrive. Burton made sure the brand thrived through the uncertainty. In 2012, it had made £41m (R849m) in sales. Last year the brand made more than £713m (R14bn) and is one of the most successful Kering brands. Don't get me wrong, there were many moments where I completely disagreed with what she did for McQueen. In retrospect, I was still discovering my sartorial eye. I was expecting her to be a carbon copy of Lee. Burton never said or did anything to tell us that was her aim. It was our collective heartbreak that we projected onto her and specifically, her vision of the house.
Lee was a place of solace for many students and lovers of fashion. He transported us to different places in which he would explore ideologies and we would watch in pure awe. He meant a lot to many. Burton managed to keep the ethos of McQueen alive; the idea of an armour for women to take on the world but in her image. This collection is a suit of protection to take on trials, combat and tribulations. From leather sculpted bust cups and corsets to rose petal gowns, armour knit dresses, and slip dresses, it's about dressing you in your beautiful suit of protection for the daily onslaught of living.
One of my colleagues said they thought Burton would stay at McQueen like Karl did at Chanel. I did as well. For me, she was the last piece of Lee that I held on to. She kept him sartorially alive. And I have to be frank, it was never her responsibility. She could’ve done whatever she wanted and left years ago. I want to thank her for staying. I want to thank her for ensuring his name never left the conversation. I want to thank her for sharing how she saw Lee.
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