Alexander McQueen fall-winter 2019 collection. By Robin Givhan Robin Givhan Fashion critic Email Bio Follow Fashion critic March 5 at 1:28 PM PARIS — The Alexander McQueen show Monday night was terrific. Not perfect, not profound. But the clothes were compelling and exquisitely made. They demonstrated designer Sarah Burton’s eye for detail and her ability to make really wonderful suits and marvelous dresses that plenty of women would want to wear.
The clothes did not come prepackaged with philosophical baggage. As a woman leading a modestly sized but internationally known fashion brand, she lets the beauty of her clothes speak about power and skill and value. Their existence alone is a feminist statement. In recent seasons, Burton had waded deep into British history. And while that must have been personally gratifying, the resulting collections often looked more like costumes than clothes. There was a bit too much authenticity in her historical references. For fall 2019, she mined her personal memories of growing up in the north of England surrounded by textiles mills and a pastoral landscape.
There were a lot of associations for her clothes, and she described them all in a set of show notes that read almost like a diary. “Sharply tailored masculine suits with a strong shoulder, defined waist and fluid asymmetric drapes are cut in worsted flannels in shade of charcoal gray and anthracite and edged with a ‘Made in England’ selvage. They are woven in the mill towns that are the very soul of the British textile industry.
Burton combines menswear with a hint of the feminine, and backstage after the show, she noted that we all want a bit of armor, but we also need a human embrace, a gentle touch, a kind hand. She introduced softness with printed dresses, fabric swirled into enormous flowers and the gorgeous curves highlighted by corsetry. One of the most beautiful pieces in the collection were plum-colored trousers with an elegant corset and side drape. It was masculinity and femininity as one.
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