October 12, 2022 |
Sarah Burton is not one to shy away from the big themes. Under a bubble dome in the elegant courtyard of Sir Christopher Wren’s Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, her SS23 collection saw her meditating on humanity and human connection. She also drilled down to the essence of McQueen, bringing back bumsters – the shocking trousers that ushered in two decades of low riders after they were introduced in the early 1990s. Her 2023 take did not show quite as much bottom cleavage as the ’90s originals but now, as then, they signalled a decisive, downward shift in silhouette. The hips don’t lie. The other bold move came in a series of printed bodysuits and lace catsuits braced with leather corset belts that brought a new body-con, superhero sexiness to the McQueen world.
Burton was on a roll, sending out strong silhouettes in quick succession. Naomi Campbell, imperious in a cut away catsuit summed up the attitude. The designer was at the height of her own virtuoso powers when it came to the tailoring. It was razor sharp with jackets and jump suits spliced and dissected, framing and calling attention to the flesh beneath. The scissor skills of Burton and the McQueen atelier are undeniable. Elsewhere, the designer used the eye as a symbol of human uniqueness and as a register of emotion -– perhaps too, as a comment on the very modern feeling of always being watched. Iris prints were blown up almost to the point of abstraction and stared out from angular trouser suits. Along the way, Burton had looked at the work of Hieronymus Bosch, whose work teams with bodies and humanity. She used it as inspiration for embroideries which appeared on everything from gowns to boots and bodysuits. Burton talked of designing clothes to empower the wearer. She did just that with a powerhouse collection.
Photography courtesy of Alexander McQueen.
