Sarah Burton, Alexander McQueen’s Creative Director, showed her Fall/Winter 23 (FW23) Ready-to-Wear line at Paris Fashion Week at Les Invalides. The show and her FW23 looks were about anatomy and reflecting the anatomy of human and clothing proportions. She arranged the runway into concentric circles with a muted image of the model reflected upside down on the outer wall. For Burton this flipped image is a subtle recognition of the state of the world where everything can seem upside down.
Naomi Campbell, opened the show in a black jumpsuit with a corseted bustier, followed by a line of tailored black suits with strong shoulders, white poplin shirts and pinstripes. This look reminisced back to McQueen’s Seville Row days but with a firm nod to the here and now. These looks were also a nod to Sarah Burton watching Cate Blanchett in the movie Tar and the scene where the tailors were making their chalk-marks as the created suits. Like Blanchett in Tar, you can feel the power Burton creates with her material and tailoring.
The collection moved into strapless dresses where the volume was neat and either strict or exploding at the bottom. Heeled trousers elongate the legs. The most prominent motif in the collection is the orchid because it thrives in the air, resists being rooted and grows in the wild. Burton sees it as beautiful, adaptable and a symbol of love.
Burton’s collection was an exploration of beauty and power through tailoring, fabrics, cut, proportion and silhouette. Respect for Burton and the brand was reflected in the packed “McQueen dressed” audience with prominent figures, stars and influencers including Anna Wintour, Elle Fanning, Eddie Redmayne, Sadie Sink, Suzie Lau and Bryan Yambao.
