Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2020 – pt 1

There’s a subtle difference between modernist and futurist.  For some it’s a distinction they just don’t have the ‘eye’ to reconcile.  Because that kind of appreciation of subtlety requires experience as well as prodigious talent.  Perhaps one of the best ways to visually illustrate that distinction is with the new Alexander McQueen pre-fall 2020 collection from Sarah Burton.  As sculpturally artistic as the collection is, it’s also eminently accessible.  These are pieces that definitely have to be worn with purpose but if you have confidence to your step the rewards are clear.

One of the benefits of beautifully tailored clothes is that it’s near enough impossible to look bad in them.  So while the extraordinary half-grey check, half-blue pinstripe, trouser and skirt business suits may take a moment for your eyes to get used to, the mere cut of the suits are calling out to you to be the one dressed in it and turning heads instead.  For the evening the black tuxedo suit draws an equally fascinating picture with the lace cut-outs and sleeves on the jacket.  Although, trying to choose from any of the amazing all-gold suits, the half-gold, half-black suits, or the shimmering red silk suits would be a really difficult decision (we’d all love to have).

Then there are the more unusual touches, like the exaggerated asymmetric hems seen throughout on the coats, dresses and skirts.  Nowhere is this highlighted more than in the gorgeous, double-breasted black leather trench coat.  Superbly tailored and accessorised with a wide, gold-buckled belt, black gold-studded bag and knee-length, black gold-buckled boots, it’s the kind of look the old cliché ‘fierce’ was invented for.  In fact, all the tailoring throughout presents an aura of utilitarianism that feeds right into the underlying modernist trope.  The personality, and therefore the accessibility, comes from the details and the design cues folded into the mix.  An extra contrast brown lapel on the on the black, double-breasted leather mini-coat for example.  Or the mass of unruly colours in the the matching cocoon coat and cocoon dress.

Shapes and silhouettes are two other facets of this little diamond.  The oversized knitted jumpers, dresses and cardigan coats share flamboyant and angular hemlines, while the soft ruffle dresses hint at something altogether more romantic.  If regal is more your style then there are the long lines of the floor-length, caped column dresses infused with cabochon embroidery.  But best of all is the blood-red, single-sleeved, silk Grecian dress; a Hail Mary, bonafide show-stopper to cap a head-turning collection.

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Click here to see the Alexander McQueen pre-fall 2020 campaign video.

To see more from Alexander McQueen click here.

Click here to see part 2 of our look at the Alexander McQueen pre-fall 2020 collection.