In Process, Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton Gives Complete Creative Freedom To 12 Artists To Reinterpret Her Work
For Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton, the creative journey is just as important as the end result. It is vital for her to document everything, to tell the complete story. The designer’s latest project, Process, shines a spotlight on the work that goes into her collections by inviting 12 artists to interpret the pre-autumn/winter 2022 line in their own languages. It is a physical, tangible and real display of Burton’s belief that creativity comes from myriad perspectives.
“Seeing another creative process is inspiring,” Burton tells Vogue of handing the mic to sculptors, photographers, painters and ceramicists, and giving them complete creative freedom to rewrite her team’s work their way. “Art has inspired people for generations, because it’s about storytelling and a reflection of the times that we live in. These have always been key narratives of the house.”
Although Burton has worked with some of the artists, such as Marcela Correa, who creates pieces for McQueen stores, and Guinevere Van Seenus, a longtime brand muse, she was taken aback by the uniqueness of the final multi-disciplinary works. “Some arrived and they were very small and precious, real treasures, and others were much larger and powerful in a different way,” she says of the sheer scale of the pieces arriving at McQueen HQ. “Especially after the last years of lockdown, you realise how much more power things have once you see them physically. It’s really the same with clothes when you see them flat or on a screen; they have a completely different feeling when they are seen in person – that’s when things come alive.”
For Burton, a woman who finds inspiration in the everyday, choosing the artwork that resonates most is impossible. The variety of personal, and oftentimes magical, stories relates to all the tales her team tells at McQueen. “Process to me is very much the narrative of how you get from one point to the next – like a collection of ideas that show the mind working.” Here, Burton unpacks what each artist’s ode to McQueen means to her.
1/12Ann Cathrin
“Ann is inspired by landscape and nature and she doesn’t sketch but through her hands has a conversation with thread. She talks about her process as an introverted and personal thing, which is very touching.”
2/12Cristina de Middel
“Cristina’s work and the conversations around domesticity and woman hood were translated so beautifully in the animation, I liked how she used surrealist imagery to break the tradition of perceived domesticity.”
3/12Guinevere Van Seenus
“Guinevere has such a long connection with the house. I loved the way she uses light and darkness which immediately felt very McQueen. She talked about making her own silver dress for her school prom. I was also moved by her familial generational story – her grandmothers passing on their love of embroideries. In her piece, it’s interesting how she plays two roles, photographer and model. I loved how she looked to light for inspiration – light out of darkness – which always resonates with us here.”
4/12Hope Gangloff
“Hope saw the denim dress in an architectural way, but looked at how colours work together, just as we look at colour and silhouette when we’re putting collections together.”
5/12Jennie Jieun Lee
“Jennie discussed how her work is a collaboration with nature, and that nature is bigger than her. She talked about working with natural forces, helping her to produce works of art more incredible than she would be able to do on her own.”
