For SS24, Sarah Burton continues to expand the language of Alexander McQueen through an intense play on workmanship and tailoring
Ever since Sarah Burton took over Alexander McQueen as creative director in 2010, the familiar rigour and provocative instincts of the founder has been translated through a female perspective. Unlike McQueen, whose presentations enlist an extreme level of theatrics, Burton is much more reserved in her approach. Instead, the founder’s extremities is instead found through her garments, specifically in her tailoring. With precise and sharp lines, she manages to translate common menswear and womenswear tropes into a proposition that adheres to the template of tailoring yet still that lives up to the brand’s extreme severity. See their latest menswear collection, where tailoring — a long-standing pillar in menswear — becomes a playground for the brand to employ their vigorous eyes.
This collection, which was presented in Milan, opposes the soft lines that the city’s tailoring is known for. As a fashion house from London, enriched with knowledge of tailoring from its founder — who trained under arguably the best tailoring houses in the world, Saville Row — this collection is filled tailored looks, with 18 out of the 31 looks being that. However, unlike the Milanese preference for a single breasted suit in an overwhelmingly navy-filled palette, it instead opts for a predominantly black or charcoal colour scheme punctuated by a bold silhouette.
The collection continues Burton’s affinity for cut, proportion and silhouette — with the silhouette being more moulded and softer as opposed to the sharp and strict looks from collections prior. See the opening look for an example, where the shoulders of a simple black wool coat curves down for a shape that resembles the bouldering shoulder of rugby players. An engineering feat to achieve such a smooth curve — variations of said shoulder echoes within parts of the collection in varying suit lengths. Suits were also paired with short shorts — a trend that we have seen appear within various of the menswear shows this season — it is cut to close precision and is paired with signature leather combat boots.
Colours remained scarce and was used sparingly. Loose shirts and trousers in light pink and canary yellow respectively accented the monotone collection. Additionally, a hand-crochet top bears three-dimensional chiaroscuro flourishes in tropical colours which was inspired by Dutch Old Master paintings, was paired simply with flowing trousers. The look, which is also available in all white, is a personal favourite. Elsewhere Burton decorated suits in an abstract fold print, in jacquard and embroidery, developed alongside McQueen’s long-time collaborator Simon Ungless.
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