Alexander McQueen and Jonathan Glazer: First Light

17.12.2020 | Blog , Culture , Fashion , Film | BY:

Alexander McQueen presents “First Light”, a film in conjunction with English filmmaker Jonathan Glazer and Alexander McQueen’s creative director Sarah Burton. The film combines the gritty scenes from the River Thames overpass with the stripped-back clothing and accessories from the campaign. With the tagline “Back to London, coming home” and under Glazer’s directing, the film draws on the peculiar and the striking. 

Debuting Alexander McQueen’s 21’ Spring/Summer collection, each scene shows the meeting point between the sophisticated and the rugged through a culmination of panned and still shots. The musical score is intense with bass and synths that reverberate throughout. Each shot is a hodgepodge, a collision of clothing hailing from different time periods that are brought together to create something new and refined. 

The womenswear collection includes pieces like a deconstructed dress with a strapless corset and an exploded skirt in layers of blush and tea rose tulle. This corset dress is featured in the film and worn by model Celina Ralph, who is caught in a cinematic shot, falling back slowly into a bed of mud. The menswear features a black biker jacket with zip detailing, a vest in white cotton jersey and biker trousers with zip detailing, reminiscent of the biker fashion of the 60’s. 

“Shape, silhouette and volume, the beauty of the bare bones of clothing stripped back to its essence – a world charged with emotion and human connection.” – Sarah Burton. 

To discover the collection, visit AlexanderMcQueen.com 

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Alexander McQueen AW20 – “The Tall Story”

28.10.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Alexander McQueen’s new addition to their line of luxury bags encompasses elegance and practicality. The Tall Story bags are the taller sister of the previously released “The Story” and includes bags with a contrast colour on the sculptural lining of the tote. First spotted on the Autumn/Winter 2020 runway, the sophisticated bag includes the Alexander McQueen seal on a leather tag. 

This tote bag is not only an elegant staple, it is also constructed with an executive interior and features pockets for a laptop, phone, and wallet. The foldable metallic handles make the bag easy to hold or hang over the shoulder via the supple leather straps. 

The Tall Story bags are available in black with oversized quilting and with a red lining finish. The line also includes a black stamped croc design and a handmade patchwork style. To view the full collection, visit AlexanderMcQueen.com 

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Alexander McQueen’s FW20 Tailor’s Quilt

01.10.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

One of the most fascinating things about Alexander McQueen’s FW20 womenswear collection is the amount of intricacy and sentimental value each look and garment holds. “The collection is a love letter to women and to families, colleagues and friends. We went to Wales and were inspired by the warmth of its artistic and poetic heritage, by its folklore and the soul of its craft. The woman is courages , grounded, bold: heroic. There is a sense of protection in the clothes, of safety and comfort, evoked through quilting and blankets. The hearts are a symbol of togetherness, of being there for others, ” explained creative director SaraH Burton .

One of the main pieces that from the collection that embodies this sentiment is the Tailor’s Quilt, which took inspiration inspiration from the allegorical tailor’s quilt at the St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff that withholds a rich history of being hand-stitched over sixteen years from 1842 by master tailor James Williams with over four and a half thousand patches.

Throughout the collection the quilt is featured in two looks including a suit with single-breasted jacket and straight legged trousers and a single breasted coat with a swallow tail constructed in an embroidered patchwork of red, damson, ivory, grey and black — all created from up cycled in-house stock of British worsted wools and military flannels from past seasons. To find out more about the looks from the FW20 collection visit AlexanderMcQueen.com 

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Alexander McQueen launches Autumn/Winter 2020 Campaign

20.08.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

If it’s one thing one can always look forward to it is the undeniable beauty behind an Alexander McQueen campaign. This season the brand tapped photographer Jamie Hawkesworth as the creative behind their Autumn Winter 2020 campaign. The campaign features models Anok Yai , Sora Choi & Jil Kortleve as they’re pictured with the striking romantic silhouettes of the AW 2020 collection against a serene English countryside background. Also front and centre is the house’s The Tall Story bag, created in line with the colour scheme of the runway. With a structor made up of sculptural lines & modern metallic handles, the elegant tote bag embodies the flexibility of being carried in hand or on the shoulder with its leather straps. The Tall Story is available in a variety of versions including black oversized quilting, black stamped croc or handmade patchwork.  View the full campaign below.

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Alexander McQueen Pre-AW20 – Sharp Lines & A Strong Heritage

16.07.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Pre-Autumn Winter 20 Menswear was the season Sarah Burton opted to hone the heritage of the house of McQueen with the use of sharp lines and signature shoulders. The collection includes 5 looks that explore the signature features of the house’s standard menswear and womenswear , through the use of several techniques for each look . One presents the use of a different method including cut and splice tailoring , while another sees the a perfect suit with slashed seams and another sees the reinvention of signature blown up floral embroideries and delicate white work that were derived from an inspirational trip to Scotland. Discover more of the collection via AlexanderMcQueen.com 

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Alexander McQueen Pre-AW20 – British art nouveau & a restrained elegance of modernism

26.06.2020 | Fashion | BY:

This week British fashion house Alexander McQueen unveiled their Pre-AW20 collection crafted by Creative Director Sarah Burton under themes of British art nouveau and arts and crafts paired with a restrained elegance of modernism. The collection features 41 looks with a refined colour palette of silver, gold, copper and reds throughout as they tell a story of the earth’s core and the treasure hidden beneath them. With this collection Burton comes bearing gifts of the team’s expert tailoring with sharply cut hems, tightly closed seams and even some draping. A simple black leather asymmetric drape coat speaks for itself with accents of gold metal staple detailing,  so does a gold double-faced metallic rib knit dress, as it’s paired with a crochet mesh skirt, an amethyst silk satin dress with a fluid cape back and gold are nouveau twisted iris embroidery gives a subtle yet power effect.

As always each piece from the collection is a testament to the power of womanhood as they are crafted with the level of dexterity that creates silhouettes demands the attention of a room while adding touches of delicacy with soft colour palettes, embroidery and draping. To discover more about the Alexander McQueen Pre-AW20 collection visit AlexanderMcQueen.com 

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Alexander McQueen SS20 – The Story Shoulder Bag

16.06.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

For SS20, British fashion house Alexander McQueen launched a continuation of their Story bag line from the SS20 pre-collection with an intro to their latest addition , The Story Shoulder Bag. First seen on SS20 runway last year, the chic shoulder bag , was inspired by the previous version,  “The Story” , featuring a slightly larger version of the modern metal handle and a new weaved chain .

The accessory is one that allows for an easy transition from day to evening, with a variety of styles to be worn over the shoulder, via the chain strap or carried as a clutch through the front metal handle. The Story Shoulder Bag is offered in a variety of colours and textures, including finishes of the iconic leather knotted whipstitch and the seasonal gold eyelets . For more info about The Story Shoulder Bag, visit AlexanderMcQueen.com 

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McQueen Creators NO.6 – Patchwork

12.06.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

This week, British fashion house Alexander McQueen is inviting their audience to recreate patchwork using scraps of fabric found in our home with the brand’s quilt coat & suit from their AW Womenswear 2020 collection as inspiration. 

The pieces from the collection were created with inspiration by the allegorical tailor’s quilt at the St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff that withholds a rich history of being hand-stitched over sixteen years from 1842 by master tailor James Williams with over four and a half thousand patches. McQueen’s tutorial features a much more condensed version with a tutorial by a member of the house’s design team taking us through the process of the creation of the tailor’s quilt patchwork . 

McQueen Creators was a weekly initiative brought forth in reaction to the current global quarantine, and calls on the house’s followers to artistically engage with their favourite pieces from a selection of images shared on the McQueen instagram page. A selection of final will be published across their social media platforms. Follow the house’s social media channels for updates, and to be considered in the batch of images shared on the McQueen page, be sure to tag @alexandermcqueen and include the hashtag #McQueenCreators in your caption. 

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Alexander McQueen – The Tread Slick

17.05.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Cover image: Black Tread Slick by Lea Colombo

 One of the best aspects of Alexander McQueen’s menswear collections are the shoes. Usually they all seem to take on an entire character within themselves, proposing interesting yet sturdy new shapes, blends and colours within the genre of menswear. A particular favourite is the Tread Slick, which first appeared in the house’s SS20 pre-collection. A lighter successor of the Tread Boot from the FW18 collection , the Tread Slick features an oversized rubber sole with a canvas upper in an array of season colours .

The house recently commissioned a selection of photographers around the world to capture the iconic shoe in their current environments. Some of which included Adama Jalloh, Lea Colombo, Eddie Wrey, Alice Schillaci, Luis Alberto Rodriguez and Julia Noni. With locations ranging from Peckham to Berlin, each shot features unique styles of imagery which captures the shoes’ detailing in somewhat of a poetic manner. For more on the Tread Slick visit Alexander McQueen

Low White Tread Slick by Wing Shya
Low B&W Tread Slick by Ethan James Green

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Alexander McQueen SS20 – Endangered Flowers

17.05.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Every small attribute of Sarah Burton’s Alexander McQueen collections are created with some type of story. Each piece from the share to them hems to the embroidery is built with some type of intention. A special detail from the house’s SS20 RTW collection was the implementation of endangered flowers. For the collection, a selection of endangered flowers were hand-embroidered on ivory irish linen dresses with cocoon backs and exploded sleeves and cotton silk tailoring.

The Alexander McQueen team were who contributed with drawings sketched in glass houses and filled with rare blooms which were all transformed into embroidery artworks. The process included lots of research into engendered and extinct flowers, and required an operation of several steps including painting and silk threading using several thread techniques. For more info on the SS20 collection visit Alexander McQueen.

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Alexander McQueen SS20 ft. Dancing Girls & Mini Bags

10.05.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

During the creation of Alexander McQueen’s SS20 collection last year, the house enlisted a handful of students from Central Saint Martin’s MA course to join them in a life drawing class at the educational space of their London flagship store. The results of this class were what resulted in the dancing girls embroideries included in the house’s SS20 collection. During the process, The Stitch School —  a group which reconnects communities through the art of embroidery — provided special tables and looms, both in London as well as in Paris so that the entire McQueen team were also able to get involved in the hand embroidery of the ivory linen dress that was worn by British model Stella Tennant on the runway.  The team effort that was put into the dress is a symbolic commitment of Sarah Burton and the house of McQueen in their efforts of passing on valuable knowledge and honing young talents and also in regards to creating a wider sense of community. 

Another fundamental part of the SS20 collection, were also the minimalistic yet glamorous mini bags. The two main styles included in the collection were the Mini Jewelled Satchel and the Mini Skull Lock Bag. Each one carries its own story, that of the Mini Jewelled Satchel being characterised by the signature jewelled handle with the Alexander McQueen skull, which can be worn cross body or as a clutch. The Mini Skull Lock bag however carries its own skull clasp and can be hand.held using the top handle , or worn with a removable leather cross body strap . The bags are available in a range of various colours which can be discovered on AlexanderMcQueen.com

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McQueen Creators NO.4 – The Silhouette x Howard Tangye

27.04.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

 Alexander McQueen’s latest instalment of their McQueen Creators initiative invites their followers to explore the art of creating silhouettes. With the use of a sketchbook and charcoals, pencils, pastels, paint or whatever materials available, we are welcomed to join the McQueen world and interpret of favourite looks from the women’s SS20 & men’s AW20 collections with images specially chosen by Creative Director Sarah Burton as inspiration. The house also taps on the Head of BA Womenswear at Central Saint Martins Howard Tangye to spearhead the project as he takes part and shares his expertise in the field with a video tutorial. Tangye is seen guiding the McQueen audience through his process of painting an ivory tailored double breasted wool overcoat and trousers from the men’s AW20 collection. The full tutorial can be viewed below. 

McQueen Creators is a weekly initiative brought forth in reaction to the current global quarantine, and calls on the house’s followers to artistically engage with their favourite pieces from a selection of images shared on the McQueen instagram page. A selection of final will be published across their social media platforms. Follow the house’s social media channels for updates, and to be considered in the batch of images shared on the McQueen page, be sure to tag @alexandermcqueen and include the hashtag #McQueenCreators in your caption. 

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Alexander McQueen SS20 – Upcycling Detailing

20.04.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Cover image by Chloe Le Drezen

One of the most admirable aspects of Sarah Burton’s Alexander McQueen SS20 collection was the clever use of upcycling. The brand has committed to the task of reworking many of it’s textiles including jacquards, silks, lace and others from stock fabric held in the archives. It’s seen throughout several key pieces in the collection such as a panelled dress crafted in ivory lichen lace, cotton tulle and washed organza with oyster ruffles sleeves and skirt. The fabrics from this elegant piece were pulled from the lichen lace materials used in McQueen’s AW17 collection as well as fine cotton, tulle and ivory from the fabric stock. Another one shouldered oyster gown was also pieced together by re-cycled silk jacquard, lace, washed organza and tulle.

The ivory floral lace being brought from the house’s SS16 collection and the pale gold Venus shell and scallop silk faille jacquards from the SS19 pre collection. The house’s commitment to giving new life to old fabrics is quite commendable and stretches beyond their own use, as they recently began an initiative that gives access to students as well.  Visit Alexander McQueen for more info on their SS20 collection.

Image by Liam Leslie
Image by Liam Leslie

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Alexander McQueen-McQueen Creators: Print edition

17.04.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

In the latest edition of their digital initiative McQueen Creators, British fashion house Alexander McQueen opens the doors to their world of print by inviting their followers to make use of whatever materials they may have at home to recreate some of the house’s most beloved designs. The initiative allows for participants to make stamps, blocks, devise a screen print or draw or paint interpretations using free hand. 

Spearheading the series is Academy of Art University executive director Simon Ungless who worked worked with Lee Alexander McQueen on several collection including The Birds, Highland Rape and Dante. In a video tutorial, the artist takes us through his process as he carries out his personal print projects from the comfort of his home studio. 

 McQueen Creators is a weekly initiative brought forth in reaction to the current global quarantine, and calls on the house’s followers to artistically engage with their favourite pieces from a selection of images shared on the McQueen instagram page. A selection of final will be published across their social media platforms. Follow the house’s social media channels for updates, and to be considered in the batch of images shared on the McQueen page, be sure to tag @alexandermcqueen and include the hashtag #McQueenCreators in your caption. 

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Alexander McQueen’s SS20 Beetled Linen

08.04.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Cover image by Liam Leslie

One of the distinctive components of Sarah Burton’s SS20 collection for Alexander McQueen was the use of beetled linen. The fabric, known for it’s pressed natural sheen, was beetled by the oldest linen mill in Ireland and the last remaining specialist in garment beetling William Clark. Needless to say, there were pieces from this collection that would be difficult to find anywhere else with such level of quality in consideration. Each beetler at the mill is trained under a master of the craft as a way to pass the elaborate technique through generations.

Specifically , the garment beetling for the SS20 collection required the making and unmaking of clothing in the McQueen studio which were later sent off to the mill where each piece was hand painted with potato starch and hammered by wooden blocks before being constructed in a final frame in studio. The intimacy of this work is visible particularly in the form of a black troupe l’ceil layered jacket and peg trousers and in black and white puff sleeve dresses with pin-tuck details that were featured on the runway. Grab a closer look at the collection online via McQueen.

Image by Chloe Le Drezen
Image by Liam Leslie

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Alexander McQueen launches interactive digital initiative

01.04.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

British fashion house Alexander McQueen today launched a new project encouraging digital creatives to work from home with the help of their guided expertise. The initiative titled McQueen Creators was brought forth in reaction to the global quarantine, and will call on the house’s followers to artistically engage with their favourite pieces from a selection of images shared on the McQueen instagram page, a selection of which will be published across their social media platforms.

Each week a new set of concepts will be released, and this week’s headliner is taken from the Roses installation at their New Bond Street open studio.  It involves the sketching process of the finale Rose dress from the AW19 show. Other future endeavours will include 3D creation and embroidery from home amongst other initiatives. Follow the house’s social media channels for updates, and to be considered in the batch of images shared on the McQueen page, be sure to tag @alexandermcqueen and include the hashtag #McQueenCreators in your caption.

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The Majestic Lacework of Alexander McQueen SS20

27.03.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Cover image by Don Mccullin

Sarah Burton’s SS20 collection for Alexander McQueen was undoubtedly one of the designer’s most graceful and sartorially inventive yet. The collection was presented in Paris last September sans the theatrics of a flashy production with the melodies of a musical orchestra. The tour de force lied within  the tailoring, as she pieced together a story that emphasised the importance of craft, and the importance of spending time to hone it. One of the lead protagonists in this story was her use of lace. Both featured in black and white , the fabric was cut into suits, dresses and even paired with leather as inspiration was drawn from the likes of endangered flowers and Irish crochet techniques. 

“I love the idea of people having the time to make things together, the time to meet and talk together, the time to reconnect to the world,” Burton explained. 

A variety of ivory lichen lace, ivory guipure and ivory lacework were all featured throughout the collection, with the ivory lace & lacework having being woven on damask linen by Thomas Ferguson who’s widely acknowledged as the world’s finest damask weaver. The intricate use of lace was not only a reference to the works of McQueen in his past collections like Dante AW1996 but also featured some up cycled fabric from Burton’s archives. For more info on Alexander McQueen SS20 , visit McQueen.

Image by Chloe Le Drezen

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PFW: Alexander McQueen FW20 – A love letter to warmth, heritage & family

03.03.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

For the past few seasons Alexander McQueen Creative Director Sarah Burton has been resorting to the quietude of poetry as sparks of inspiration for her latest collection. A strategy that has been working quite well in finding the beauty in little things to execute and amplify on a larger scale. The beauty in nature or culture or in this case heritage. Burton’s FW20 references stemmed from a trip to Wales where she grew fond of several aspects of the country’s heritage.   

“The collection is a love letter to women and to families, colleagues and friends. We went to Wales and were inspired by the warmth of its artistic and poetic heritage, by its folklore and the soul of its craft, “ she commented. 

She drew direct inspiration from the Wrexham Tailor’s Quilt was an artefact and one of the most well known patchworks that was crafted over a ten year from 1842 using recycled scraps he had used to craft the uniforms he made during the day. The quilt known for its detailed visuals which stood as a representation of something greater, braver and aspirational knowing that it was pieced together by scraps. The literal and symbolic sentiment of this resonated with the designer.

“The woman is courageous, grounded, bold: heroic. There is a sense of protection in the clothes, of safety and comfort, evoked through quilting and blankets. The hearts are a symbol of togetherness, of being there for others.” 

The collection was a collage of sharp seamed graphic tailoring that incorporated upcycled wool flannels woven in British mills from previous McQueen seasons and set in dramatic geometric blocks, which was also very much in line with the brand’s recent initiative of a fabric donation scheme for future designers. 

“The ethos at Alexander McQueen means that everything we use in researching and designing collections has always been archived and stored”, she notes. “We’ve never thrown anything away.” Mindful of providing access to students who need resources, the scheme activates an imaginative purpose for the remaindered luxury fabrics which have been routinely saved after the sampling and production cycles of women’s and men’s collections over the past decade,” Burton said of the initiative. 

This collection was a further step to this project , pulling on fabrics from the brand’s archive to piece together an impressive collection which spoke to the concepts of warmth, family and heritage all while being sustainable while at it.

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Alexander McQueen SS20 Campaign

28.01.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

Alexander McQueen recently released their Spring Summer RTW 2020 Campaign shot by Jamie Hawkesworth. The campaign features faces Vivien Solari, Felice Noordhoof and Imaan Homaam elegantly posed by the seaside.  

“Each look tells its own story. The connection between the clothes is the time it took to make them. I was interested in clarity and paring things down, in the essence of garments – stripping back to the toile. I love the idea of people having the time to make things together, the time to meet and talk together, the time to reconnect with the world.” Sarah Burton Creative director.

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MFW Men’s: Alexander McQueen’s FW20 Sartorial Romance

14.01.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

For the first time, British fashion house Alexander McQueen presented it’s menswear collection during Milan Fashion Week earlier this week. 

For FW20, creative director Sarah Jane Burton, created poetry, and no, this is not in referral to the violinists who welcomed guests into the space with their ever so elegant strums, but rather in regards to the symphonious binding of fabrics and tailoring carried out throughout the collection. 

Many may argue that classic menswear in its purest form is a straight line, a linear scale of techniques and patterns that must be followed and abided by at all costs. Yet with this collection, it is as if Burton breaks up the parts of a puzzle, and pieces them back together in an entirely different way no one knew was possible. 

With inspiration from Northern landscapes , the designer crafted a collection of razor tailored razor sharps suits , and doubled breasted overcoats  inspired by minerals rocks and stones. Coats and jackets were rendered in grey sharkskin mohair and black wool are spliced and slashed, echoing the lines of military harnessing. Panels from classic military coats cut into signature tailoring and camel overcoats. 

Each look was made and styled with an intricate level of artistry. An added touch were are the silk suits and coats that were printed with an engineered artwork of Henry Moore, Three-Quarter Figure 1928, reproduced courtesy of the Henry Moore Foundation. 

A few pieces were created in reference to the house’s SS20 womenswear collection like some of the shoes and a few accessories. Nonetheless, the designer’s approach to menswear is a breath of fresh air for the industry. Serving as the perfect example that there is no one way of creating elegance, no one way of creating menswear, the options are not limited to classic or street but is open to a vast variety of undiscovered proposals. 

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