A garden of Eden brought to life: Inside Alexander McQueen’s new ‘Roses’ exhibition.
Alexander 'Lee' McQueen once said, ‘everything I do is connected to nature’, and it is nature which inspires the latest exhibition on display at the brand’s London flagship store. As with its predecessor Unlocking Stories, Roses is a tale of two halves. Incorporating both past and present Alexander McQueen looks, half are archival pieces from collections conceived by the late designer, and half, designs by current creative director Sarah Burton.
The exhibition is structured, principally, around two finale centrepieces - Burton’s Red Rose dress (from which the exhibition takes its name) and the crinolined gown made from real flowers that ended Lee McQueen’s 2007 Sarabande show. The latter greats visitors as they ascend from the store’s spiral staircase: shells of silk organza, shaped with boning and embroidered in abundance with fresh roses and hydrangeas, which fell and wilted on the runway. A live orchestral rendition of George Frederick Handel’s Sarabande, from the film Barry Lyndon, can be heard throughout the space from a circular booth in which the 2007 finale plays on a loop.
Nature was a powerful incentive for Lee McQueen. Sarabande cited as its inspiration artist Sam Taylor Johnson’s photographic compositions of dying fruit - bringing further credence to the overlaps between McQueen’s fashion and art. Indeed, in their craftsmanship and composition his creations are art, particularly where they draw on countless sources of artistic inspiration, but I digress. Since McQueen’s passing in 2011, Burton’s collections have routinely paid homage to, and drawn inspiration directly from, her predecessor’s work. The brand’s archive is, thus, constantly in use as a creative resource under Burton, whose practice of taking artistic references and fashioning them around elaborate narratives mirrors McQueen’s. The purpose of the store’s second-floor installation space is to bring to life connections between archival pieces by McQueen, the designer, and the creative processes behind McQueen, the brand, as it exists today. The corseted skirt suit, with exploding neckline and sleeves filled with roses, hydrangeas and silk organza flowers, from Sarabande, sits alongside ‘exploded’ flower dresses from Burton’s Autumn/Winter 2012 campaign. Furthermore, two hand-cut and spiked flower dresses inspired by the ephemeral blue flax flower from Burton’s most recent collection, recall the same pleating and shredding techniques of those from 2012.
A voluminous, black taffeta shaped dress from 2006’s Widows of Culloden is evidently the dramatic inspiration behind the rose dress, but one can also clearly see connections between McQueen past and present where the draped, overlapping troupe l’ceil petal jacket from 2008’s A Girl Who Lived In The Tree campaign, predates its drapes and folds. Other vintage McQueen offerings include garments from Scanners (Autumn/Winter 2003) - an under acknowledged collection that imagined tribes of women struggling against extreme climates - and two wool embroidered, needlepoint dresses from #13. Displayed next to yellow, honeycomb pattered and bee appliquéd garments by Burton (Spring/Summer 2013), both are architectural in ways.
Technique and artistry are synonymous with Alexander McQueen, so it is only right that the exhibition focuses on the design process. Visitors are openly encouraged, for example, to pick up the labels attached to each look which explain how they was made. In a step-by-step video, current head of the atelier Judy Halil demonstrates the process and inspiration behind Burton’s rose dress, and a public programme of workshops and events organised in collaboration with universities and collages, gives budding young fashion students the opportunity to learn about craft and design direct from the McQueen team.
Roses functions across multiple platforms - as an exhibition, an archive and a workspace. It is a true treasure trove of McQueen from across the decades to the delight of fans such as myself. 27 Old Bond Street is my new home from home. Excuse me while I just move in here.
Roses is open during Alexander McQueen store hours at 27 Old Bond Street, Mayfair. Admission is free.











