F  L  A  U  N  T

![Alt Text]() Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen is one of fashion’s premier storytellers. Burton infuses her clothes not just with the craftsmanship inherent in each garment, but with a sense of history, of culture and the emotional connection of a garment to various generations of women. Burton’s spring show portrayed, ‘the journey of women, the journey of a woman’ and traditional ‘rites of passage’ like birth, sisterhood, betrothal, marriage and mourning. Garments like a beige, sheer, knit and lace, cowl neck, asymmetrical dress, paired with a black leather, waist belt, side, apron wrap or a black leather, fitted, biker jacket accompanied by a back train and worn with a very low waist, bumpster pant. These reflect a McQueen convention--clothes that offer both romance and protection. Built to resemble the neolithic, stone circle in the Village of Avebury, the runway set displayed three large faux, rock boulders, wrapped in a cotton patchwork blanket. The scene depicts travel to the rural landscape of west country where the roots of country life take hold. A black and white, floral, jacquard print running along the length of a pleated dress, is inspired by the flowers that can be seen in the wide valleys of the Wiltshire countryside. The vivid explosion of an asymmetrical, floral, print coat or an intricately embroidered, floral, patchwork, tulle dress, reflect how the studio has absorbed the true and natural beauty of the west lands. A long, black, fitted, coat pant suit, with cutouts at the side, a spectacular black, sleeveless, fitted, nip waist, pantsuit with embroideries at the waist, and a sleeveless, windowpane, grey and a white one button pant suit worn with a metal chain vest assert that, tailoring has always been a particular strength of the collection and this time is no exception. Throughout, the craftsmanship and work in each garment is impeccable and surely the clothes are haute couture quality. A black, crochet knit, single shoulder strap, dress and a simple, soft yellow, puffed sleeved dress, were standouts. At times the show seemed too controlled, and perhaps on occasion it felt as if the designer should let the girls run wild a little bit along the hills and valleys of the West English countryside.

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Photos courtesy of Alexander McQueen