14 DAY TRIAL // Alexander McQueen has always been – and will probably always remain – the wild child of fashion. Never the one to settle for what’s given, each McQueen collection bears the mark of unbridled imagination, the kind that knows no boundaries. His latest one, presented during the Paris Fashion Week, is no exception, where everything, from the designs themselves to the audacious, 12-inch heel shoes, proved one more time that Alexander McQueen continued to be a provocateur, as the Los Angeles Times puts it.
The theme of the collection was inspired from Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species,” and, as such, was shocking for its Audacity and futurism, but extremely fluid at the same time. Models carefully sashayed on the catwalk in patterned creations, with hairdos that verged on the grotesque, and trying to balance their delicate frames in ankle boots that measured 12 inches in heels and looked more like some torture contraptions than footwear.
“The creatures that came out onto the runway were otherworldly nymphs with hair like cobra hoods, and staggering platform shoes with armor-like shells. One look morphed into the next, with dresses wrapping, twisting and folding in on each other. Moth, praying mantis and manta ray prints evocative of Damien Hirst’s nature-themed works were engineered specifically for each garment, and embroideries brought to mind underwater wreckage. Dresses also were covered in a print taken from an aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef, and when the evolutionary process was complete, a new being emerged in the final model, dressed in sequins and opalescent beads that conjured underwater bio-luminescence.” the LA Times writes in a review of the collection.
Clearly, chances are slim that we’ll ever get to see Alexander McQueen’s shoes, those included in the recent collection, that is, when walking down the street, but, as some fashion aficionados put it, here’s to hoping. It’s no longer a secret that only few of the designs that are usually included in such a collection get to be produced, and the same applies here, both with the clothes and the shoes. Granted, the shoes would also prove to be extremely unpractical – unless you’re a celebrity and you only have to travel on short distances, of just a few paces. But they would make for one extraordinary statement, supporters vouch.
“Was it wearable? Of course not. (In Paris, real women can look to the terrific pants and jackets on the runways at Stella McCartney and Dries Van Noten for that.) But people should know by now that only about 20% of what’s shown on the runways actually ends up being produced. (The bulk of what stores buy is from the more commercial pre-collections back in the designers’ showrooms.) Now more than ever, the runway is the place for brand statements, and McQueen’s voice came across loud and clear.” the aforementioned publication says of the entire collection.
