If I was a flower growing wild and free, all I’d want is you to be my sweet honey bee.
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There was a buzz backstage at Alexander McQueen. Sarah Burton created magic, atmosphere and theatre, and although the show took place over a month ago, the sound and feel and impact is still tangible. This morning the house released a backstage film by Sean Frank, revealing the secrets of the show and how it came together. Encrusted chokers are centred on models’ necks with ruler like precision, visors angled at exactly the right degree, shoes laced with love, and not before serious critical inspection are they released. But hardwork pays off and as a result, it wasn’t models that emerged the other side on the catwalk, but real Queen Bees, hybrid females created by the history of dressmaking and costume, and it’s this transformative power that makes a McQueen show feel special; it’s so impeccable that it’s believable.
Using a honey palette and honeycomb patterns in undergarments and overgarments, Sarah concentrated on the female form for Spring Summer. She told i-D backstage, “I wanted to bring it back to the silhouette of the house, embracing femininity and womanhood. I wanted it to feel erotic but not overtly sexual. The corsets and bustles aren’t about one particular period, they’re about everything that’s been used historically to accentuate the female form. And there’s always a nature reference!”
Read i-D Fashion Editor Caroline Newell’s report of the show here.
Text: Sarah Raphael
Photography: George Harvey
Film: Sean Frank
