MILAN, Jan 21, 2009 / FW/ — A collection entitled “McQueensberry Rules” in honor of the Marquis of Queensberry, the a man who standardized the rules for boxing, Alexander McQueen created a bridge with his eponymous line and his collaboration with PUMA wherein he also unveiled his Fall 2009 collection.
In short, the British-born designer showed two collections in Milan this season, one on the catwalk and in a presentation cum movie.
After seeing these two collections, two words come to mind – DESIGN GENIUS. Because while the PUMA collection was sportive, even high-tech with its ergonomic tendencies, Alexander McQueen’s eponymous collection shows the designer at his best.
Men in hat wearing different permutations of the overcoat with lengths ranging from calf-length to mid-thigh, Alexander McQueen brought Victorian London to the forefront. The three-piece suit and the winter coat from the trench to the double-breasted style became almost a uniform of these strong men who are members of the exclusive fight club.
Brutality simmers underneath, but it never shows its ugly head. These men are pent up for action; a wrong move can set them off.
Alexander McQueen might have just extended the pugilist inspiration of the PUMA collection (or was it the other way around), but he also touched on a budding seed of American pop culture, the Sanctuary. A sci-fi TV series filmed with a virtual set, The Sanctuary begun its life on the web and then successfully moved to television bringing with it a captive web audience.
The story revolves around a group of people who were alive during the Victorian era, one of them actually is supposed to be Jack the Ripper himself. An experiment which was only partly successful gave them long life spans. And though they carry with them Victorian England, they have also embedded themselves with the 21st century way of life.
And this is the feeling I got with the two Alexander McQueen collections – a bridge between the past and today.
[SARA CONDE]
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