Rottenfields Exclusive: Private View for Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! Exhibition

2 days ago we had an opportunity to take a quick glimpse at fashionistas and celebrities gathering on the red carpet of Somerset House for the exclusive private view for Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! Exhibition. Take a look of our iphone (apologies for the low quality)  snapshots of Daphne Guinness, Nick Knight, Sarah Burton, Philip Treacy & Grace Jones posing for photographers. The exhibition opens on November 20th and lasts until March 4th. Click here for more details.

Alexander McQueen A/W 2013 RTW

Sarah Burton, talented designer that since a few years ago took control of the brand orphaned of Lee McQueen, presented last February the womenswear collection for the coming Autumn/Winter season in a very private form.

Handmade dresses, that are perfect in every detail, full of embroideries, beads and golden baguettes. Unique dresses, totally couture, that are the result of the mastery of craftsmen that took inspiration from the priest’s cassocks during the Elizabethan era. From these 10 astounding looks the main collection has been conceived, that will be on sale in the shops, while the "couture" collection will only be on demand, and will probably make the new ladies of the Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) happy.

In the prêt-à-porter collection, the colors, materials (such as velvet) and the inspiration are kept, while the silhouette is changed, by becoming more daywear, and so did the price.

While some of the audience are having a problem with the costume-y feel of the collection, let's don't forget what McQueen is all about. The endurance of fashion from the thousand-years-old historical linearity of the craft. McQueen is not about post-20th century austerity. Elle from La Petite Anglaise depicts it perfectly: "The intricate, impractical almost non-sensical beauty of this collection is precisely what I love so much about it. With Stella McCartney and Victoria Beckham delivering flawless everyday luxury, I think it’s both interesting and encouraging to see their fellow female British Fashion Designer of the Year winner doing the polar opposite and doing it so darn well. In some ways I can’t help but feel that this kind of awe-inspiring, artistic expression is what high fashion is really all about." I can't get rid off the impression that when it comes to the traditional aspect of fashion, McQueen makes the omnipresent minimalism, so overhyped by other brands' RTW collections, look plainly mediocre. What we truly love in McQueen is that, unlike most of other brands that try to follow the street wear, his definition of high fashion still remain true to the literate context of being "high".

Honestly, this is the most beautiful ready-to-wear collection I have ever seen.

(Pictures from the store courtesy of La Petite Anglaise)

Video presentation: Alexander McQueen A/W 2013

Watch the video presentation form the catwalk. Even more staggering appearance of the collection placed in halls of Opera Comique, Paris

Alexander McQueen A/W 2013

Ladies & Gentlemen, Alexander McQueen at its finest. The historical allure, the craftsmanship, the majestic grandeur worthy of the gods. Alexander McQueen is always THE show, that the whole world is waiting for, and there are reasons for that. What's so distinctive about this brand is the curiosity it conceives is ourselves. We want to find out something more about the backdrop of the creatures, personas and characters and the worlds, the realms they come from, stepping in for a moment for us to have a quick glance, never long enough to feed our curiosity. Imagine if that medieval world, its reality, its zeitgeist, would somehow managed to live on, imagine the queens stepping in with the army of courtiers to expose the wealth of the kingdom of ruffs and steel as our realities clashes together. McQueen is one of the rare brands that makes us wonder what is happening to those creations before and after these 15 seconds in which the magic happens and we have a chance to take a glimpse of other fantastical dimension, so cleverly crafted by the inventiveness of the brand. The ethos is not aimed just at the fashion itself but at the whole sensorial reception. A humble bow towards Sarah Burton for leaving us speechless and visually fulfilled.

 

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