Sarah Burton toiled alongside Alexander McQueen for years before his sudden death in 2010. Now at the creative helm, she s uniquely qualified to intuit his vision, infusing it in everything she does at the house. Which, by all accounts, is a lot—she s heavily invested in every one of the collections, whether big or small, women s or men s.
In the label s second line, McQ, presented in a showroom setting, the late designer s favored themes of disruption and destruction became apparent in a compact array of artfully shredded and intentionally weather-beaten wares. The notion of squatting was big, seen in unsettling prints by the U.K. illustrator Fergus Purcell; concert tees had made-up names for legal reasons, adding to their mysteriousness. A silver foil-effect knit exuded a home-distressed quality, and a specially treated crinkled tee came with a bag to avoid any loss of crinkle in the washing machine. Some looks, like patchwork sweaters, were suitably slouchy and droopy, while others laid flat with an army-surplus crispness. Black sandals and clunky mosh-pit boots rounded out the underground appeal of the collection.
There s no flaw to be found in these clothes; they re perfect distillations of the house codes. Maybe too perfect, but Burton isn t afraid to push buttons. Whereas the keffiyeh scarf as a fashion reference is fairly played out at this point, Burton diced and spliced it in novel ways, rendering it in the house s signature razor-blade motif to unnerving effect.
