Dark romance is the beating heart at Alexander McQueen and this season it rose unfettered from the warrior woman corsets of SS14 in spectacular form.
Guests were transported to a moonlit moor-like environ, where fairytale creatures roamed free in graceful trapeze shapes and empire lines reminiscent of a Thomas Hardy virginal milkmaid. The artisanal excellence of the McQueen Atelier was in majestic form; soft lines were imagined in embroideries created as if by sleight of hand, or composed of thousands of hand-cut feathers to give the illusion of moths wings.
But fairy-tales are not pure innocence and romance: red riding hood is paired with a wolf, snow white in tandem with a witch. Darkness accentuates light and this balance worked perfectly in this collection. A fierce owl-like creature wore a swopping cape while other feral stunners prowled the moors swathed in fur, sporting ferociously feathered eyebrows.
A collection such as this straddles the line between ready-to-wear and couture and it is easy to see that this metier is where Burton is most happy. The duality of the collection in itself exemplifies the ideal of the McQueen woman. She journeys somewhere between the shadows and the light; ethereal but not fragile, celestial yet darkly mythic and it’s this vision of  such a magical female that keeps us enchanted season after season.
by Marie-Louise von Haselberg
Images courtesy of style.com