Alexander McQueen aren’t having a menswear show this season. Sarah’s on maternity leave. But fear not. We have pictures. Very nice pictures. Lensed by Julia Hetta. They are what one might call evocative. Painterly, even. Akin to a Victorian portrait. But anyway. The collection. Dominic thinks there’s a touch of the Kray Twins in the first picture. Which, funnily enough, isn’t far off. Because, or so the press release tells me, we begin in the Swinging Sixties. Not in like a fortieth birthday costume party sort of a way (tie dye, Twiggy mini dress, baker boy caps, Aunt Pat sobbing into a white wine spritzer) – no, this is about the tailoring, “traditional, sharply cut Savile Row tailoring,” to be exact. But a bit mod-ish, rebellious. Suiting, snug at the blazer, loose in the trousers, falling into puddles at the foot or slim-cut, pinstriped and slightly cropped at the ankle. From here we’re off, Narnia-style, to “a dusty exotic world,” more specifically, India, even more specifically, India during the empire period. Which means it all gets increasingly opulent – Indian carpet patterns, leopard print, sunset landscapes, a tailored take on the traditional Indian Sherwani, faces adorned with jewellry. The result? Well, again, to return to the press release – the mix of the lavishness of the Maharaja and the spirit of the sixties adds a “dandified irreverence to the collection”. And what else would one what to channel this coming Spring Summer season than that?
