September 14, 2023 |
After 13 years at the helm of Alexander McQueen, it was announced on September 11 that Sarah Burton is leaving the brand. Here, we look back at 10 of the most memorable moments which defined her tenure.
SPRING/SUMMER 2011
Following Alexander Lee McQueen’s tragic death aged 40 in 2010, Sarah Burton softened the brand’s dark and discomforting silhouettes with its SS11 collection, opting instead for a nurturing atmosphere where Paganism and an Earth-Mother-ly spirit reigned. The beginnings of a more commercial turn for the brand, the first looks out were plain, white and crafted in canvas, slowly being reclaimed by nature with every step down the runway. Monarch butterflies, feathers, gilded cornstalks, pleated organza that looked like an unfolding sea anemone were key features, dancing in harmony amidst the enveloping ensembles. “We’ve always had these great shows, but the point is, we want women to wear these clothes,” Burton told British Vogue for its December 2011 issue. “They’re meant to be worn.”
THE ROYAL WEDDING
The most talked about dress of 2011 was, of course, a Burton-McQueen custom. For the royal wedding, she designed an opulent satin gown with a lace appliqué bodice peppered with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons and fastened by Rouleau loops, a veil of soft, ivory silk tulle and a nine foot train which Kate Middleton wore for the ceremony. The skirt was constructed to echo an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats that pooled in the train. Taking 30 seamstresses a year to complete, the dress was a triumph for Burton, and the embroidered details on the veil – rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock – were handmade by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace to represent each of the countries that make up the United Kingdom. Workers washed their hands every 30 mins to keep the lace and thread pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.
Later, at the reception hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, the new Princess of Wales wore a rarely-seen satin gown with a delicate sweetheart neckline and accessorised it with a crystallised belt, angora bolero – the look was also designed by Burton. Burton described the opportunity to create the gowns as the ‘‘experience of a lifetime”.
AUTUMN/WINTER 2012
On the same Salle Wagram floor where Lee McQueen showed in October 2003, Sarah Burton presented her lush AW12 collection. Extravagant tiered puff-ball dresses paired with uniform white wigs and sci-fi visors exploded onto the runway. Frothy pink organza and shaggy shapes of goat fur, ostrich feather and Mongolian lamb undulated with every step, demanding utter attention.
AUTUMN/WINTER 2013
For Alexander McQueens’s AW13 show, Burton was inspired by the formative years of Elizabethan England. Completing the 10-look collection – divided into five subgroups: communion, nuns, cardinals, popes, and angels – during the final stages of her pregnancy, collars were stiff, linen, and attached to intricate puffy-sleeved ball gowns embellished with pearls, jewels and structured with enormous crinolines. Models’ heads were encased in precious cages for the brief but glorious pageant, serving a sort of off-kilter subversion and a punkish assault on orthodoxy.
THE MET GALA
Every great designer has a major Met Gala moment under their belt. Burton’s was an embroidered celestial gown for Nicole Kidman in 2016. Crafted with intricate beading, moon and star motifs, bodice cutouts and a floor-length cape with an Art-Deco vibe, it was perfectly suited for the theme of that First Monday in May – Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.
THE OSCARS
For the 91 annual Academy Awards, Burton dressed Lady Gaga in a jet black opera dress with matching leather evening gloves. Completed with padded hips and a drop waist, it was a sexy, sculptural number, and was the dress the singer made Oscars history in, becoming the first person to win an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe in the same year.
THE FASHION AWARDS
On the eve of the 10th anniversary of Alexander McQueen’s death, Sarah Burton was honoured with a special Trailblazer award at the 2019 Fashion Awards. The special-recognition accolade, which saw Kim Jones as its inaugural recipient in 2018, celebrates the game-changers driving fashion forward through groundbreaking innovations and unparalleled craftsmanship. Back in 2011, she was honoured with the Designer of the Year award.
BEYONCE
Queen Bey has long been a fan of Burton, wearing her Frazer-sharp designs dozens of times – even donning several for her ongoing Renaissance world tour earlier this year. Her first major McQueen look came in 2019 for the Lion King premiere when the singer wore a blazer imbued with audacious opulence and glittering grandeur. Embellished with a panoply of sequins and crystal appliqués, a gauzy skirt emerged from its bottom hem and cascaded down Beyoncé’s long legs like a veil.
SPRING/SUMMER 2023
Sarah Burton’s SS23 collection for the house was inspired by humanity and human connection. Under a bubble dome in the elegant courtyard of Sir Christopher Wren’s Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, the designer translated that into a masterclass in tailoring, playing with proportion, cut and silhouette, breaking the rules as only someone who knows them instinctively can do. Bringing back the bumster and pairing it with tiny corset-cut blazers, sending out a series of printed bodysuits and cut-away lace catsuits – Naomi Campbell’s was a beaded and embellished dream – braced with leather corset belts, and decking dresses and suits with evil eye-esc motifs, it was a powerhouse collection.
Post-show, Bones and All starlet Taylor Russel wore a sexy leather, backless halter dress right from the runway for the 2022 Academy Museum Gala.
THE KING’S CORONATION
Recently, Burton created a pillar cut dress with deep v-neckline and long sleeves featuring delicate silver-work embroidery that once again depicted the floral emblems of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, worn by Kate Middleton for the coronation of King Charles III back in May. Middleton’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, also wore a Burton for McQueen creation for the occasion that was similar to her mother’s dress and crafted in the same fabric, but featured intricate embroidery and was topped with a white cape.
