When she took over at McQueen last year, Sarah Burton quietly promised that she’d try to bring a new sense of softness and female-minded wearability to the collection and, despite being just a tad busy these past couple months, she’s already delivering. The spotlight trained on Burton now is relentless. Even a resort collection, which might formerly have slipped by without much comment, is now the subject of immense interest, especially as it’s likely to contain semi-hidden, non-runway gems that might be picked out by the likes of, say, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, or Michelle Obama for tours, day events, photo-calls, state dinners, and the like.
Any surface reading of resort is proof that Burton is already brilliant at interpreting clothes for all these modern calibrations of formality. The current collection—built around the centrifugal idea of romantic utility—contains everything from signature McQueen tailored pants and high-necked white blouses to graceful mid-length skirts with a luxurious ruffled hem before going all the way through to embassy-ready gold-embellished suits and ball-worthy fantasias made out of fairy-fingered embroidery on tulle.
Part of her genius is the way she’s staying completely faithful to the McQueen templates while also easing the silhouette to present it at its most flattering. Two spectacular dresses with trains—one with white lace, inspired by shells, on pink, and the other with gold bullion cornfield-and-flower embroidery set against nude tulle—are cut to the body and beautifully slim from the torso to thigh before trailing out into layered skirts. The raised waists of the coats, jackets, and day-dresses, all cinched with wide-strapped leather belts, are similarly calculated to strike a great proportion. Add the elongating new length, with its swanky, swishing movement, and you have something that exudes a grown-up, modern presence without any hint of stiffness or fashion-for fashion's-sake.
Close-up, too, this collection only gets more desirable. Burton’s smart analysis of how to break beautiful fashion into wearable parts has lead her to make a fantastic white ribbon dress (which surely has Middleton’s name on it), but also to offer a pencil skirt and a gorgeous peplum jacket as accessible variants. As for Burton working away in her studio in Clerkenwell? She shows every sign of handling the pressure with the serenity that allowed her to get through the royal wedding with such aplomb and privacy and, even better, the sparkle in her eye says she’s enjoying every minute of it.
By Sarah Morrow for Vogue
Sarah Burton continues to do such an amazing job for the McQueen label.
I am beyond impressed. Flawless.
No comments:
Post a Comment