There's something very appropriate about Sarah Burton showing her S/S 15 collection for Alexander McQueen at the Royal College of Surgeons. The late Lee McQueen was known for his precession and brilliance with the cutting knife. It also made an aptly serious, imposing setting for a collection that would largely forgo the theatrics and fantasy that many expect and adore from McQueen and focus instead on using, you guessed it, cut to create interest. Though some will never be pleased unless they see live wolves or psycho face-masks at McQueen, the quiet confidence and subtly of this collection was oddly seductive, especially given how visually riotous the rest of LC:M has been.
The Asian obsession that seems to have somehow grabbed nearly all our designers came through in some of the tailoring, especially the the high belted kimono-like jackets, but the Brutishness that underpins the McQueen aesthetic was present in the Prince of Wales and houndstooth checks that were sliced and diced together into abstract Matisse-like forms. This wasn't a landmark collection for McQueen, certainly not one that will be cited and referenced in years to come. Instead it was very much of the moment and was about defining and streaming what the label offers its consumers and what it stands for in the modern menswear market.
