In 1996, Lee Alexander McQueen brought his show to New York for the first time. The only other show he held in the city, was in 1999, when he showed the Eye collection. Now, after three years away from the city, the brand returns, helmed now by Sarah Burton, for Fall 2022.
"It is part of our community," Burton says of New York City, "a place that has always welcomed us, and this season I want to honour that. So, this collection is inspired by that idea of community," she notes, and goes on to talk about mycelium: the focal point of the Fall 2022 show. Amid mounds of soil in an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse where the show takes place, we begin to understand what she means. Mycelium, otherwise known as the life source of all living things, is the underground fungal network that communicates with trees and other plants and transfers nutrients to foliage in need. "Mycelium connects even the rooftop of the tallest skyscraper to the plants, to the grass, to the ground, to animals and to human beings. Mycelium has the most profound, interconnecting power, relaying messages through a magical underground structure, allowing trees to reach out to each other when either they or their young need help or are sick." Burton notes.
This concept is the launchpad for the collection. Restoration, rejuvenation, and healing came to mind amid crisp, purposeful tailoring and playful dresses that were embroidered in vivid mushrooms, skeins of silk fringe trailing away from hemlines, representing the mycelia's far-reaching magic.
With psychedelics, most notably, psilocybin's boom in popularity in the past years, it only makes sense for a collection to stem from the fascination found within the realm of mushrooms, even if Burton isn't directly referring to the magic kind. Mushrooms are everywhere. They are going in our coffee for focus and energy, brands are turning to them for leather alternatives (an idea Burton is looking into, but hasn't implemented yet). It is the year of the mushroom, and Burton is leading the charge.
Amid psychedelic neon pantsuits and voluminous strapless dresses, Burton was sure not to forget an offering of sartorialism. Smoking jackets were turned into slouchy, double breasted dresses with hip-high splits; one blazer was embellished with a crystal back, paired with a crystal encrusted bandeau. The first dress through the piles of soil was a strapless, black leather dress with an asymmetric hem. Elsewhere, biker jackets were turned into mini dresses or cropped at the torso with unzippable sleeves. In a moment that felt truly McQueen, a series of suits made their way down the runway with spray painted figures on them.
"We exist as single, individual entities on one level, but we are far more powerful connected to each other, to our families, to our friends, to our community," Burton notes. "Given everything that has happened over the past two years, that seems more important than ever."
Long live the mushroom. McQueen would have loved it.
Watch the full Alexander McQueen show, below.
