Sarah Burton was true to her stated inspiration, Modernism, with her Alexander McQueen Spring 2014 Ready to Wear collection. The movement played with new form and eschewed the idea of a Creator designing the world. Burton’s mix of burnished metals, graphic patterns, feathers, and intricate beading toyed with expected silhouettes, transforming them.
Gladiators, flappers, and tribal warriors all appeared to walk the runways. The references were largely unintentional, according to show notes, citing Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso. Those giants were evident, certainly, in graphic blocks of red, blue, and white, but as an entire jacket covered in minuscule beading, the Maasai warrior showed through. Bronze cloches and arms full of cuffs called forth Amazons, but in the context of Modernism, Constantin Brancusi’s bronze Bird in Space could have been the spark.
It is certainly no coincidence that the female figures Burton’s looks bring to mind are groundbreaking in their strength and their ability to break through stereotypes. Like Bauhaus’ concept of total art, in which all design elements and methods come together to create, the total of the collection, was radical in its time and strong in its intent.
Images courtesy Style.com
by Alison Santighian