The nature of McQueen

Kaia Gerber in a short metal evening dress that looks like a living organism. Outfits made of knits and filaments. Couture constructions with bustiers. Leather biker meets couture. Super sexy cuts from art vernissage. There is a vital thread weaving through the 41 looks that mark Sarah Burton's comeback in New York for Alexander McQueen's Fall 2022 show, titled Mycelium, after the organ that brings nourishment to mushrooms.

 "In our London studio after Christmas a large mushroom sprouted from the concrete. It made me think about the power of nature," the designer told MFF backstage in the interval between the two shows with 200 guests each. From Anna Wintour to Grace Coddington, the front row confirmed the attention paid to the work of the creative at the helm of the Kering brand, "which continues to open stores and conquer markets", as CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger told MFF (see MFF of March 17).

The inclusive cast parades among large heaps of leaves and branches emerge like dunes in the industrial spaces of the Agger Fish Building in Brooklyn. The smell of wood and undergrowth is stinging among installations evoking the pavilions of Documenta in Kassel or some of Anish Kapoor's works.

"I am happy to come back to New York, a city that has always been close to our hearts. We presented the Dante collection here in 1996 and then returned with Eye in the fall of 1999," Sarah Burton recalled backstage. "This collection is inspired by that idea of community, and particularly by the mycelium, by the reality of nature as a community which is much, much older than we are".

Judgment. Strong. Fit for the street and the red carpet. Obsessively studied and tailored. Quintessentially Sarah Burton. There is more than one reference to the 90s in the looks, alternating needlepoint with juxtaposed colours like mould on sculptural bodies or touches of explosive colours on male models. Biker couture and sharp studs emerge like excrescences on fetishist bags, which are already cult objects. Shoes and jewellery have an increasing importance in the fashion show of the Kering Maison. (All rights reserved)