Everyone in fashion is talking about it. After seasons of runway clothing more suited for Instagram feeds than for wearing in everyday life situations, there is a return to a quieter and traditional fashion agenda. The runways from New York to Milan to Paris showed an undeniable return to classic looks like the well-tailored suit. Alexander McQueen’s collection, designed by Sara Burton and exhibited in Paris, was no exception to this for their Fall/ Winter runway which was chocked full of genderless classics.
Naomi Campbell began the festivities in a black bustier, baggy trousers and orchid earrings crafted out of metal. She sauntered on the wood-planked runway like she had done this a thousand times, which she has and she looked as youthful as ever. And then there was the suiting— echoing the Savile Row expertise that Lee McQueen began his career with. Double-breasted suits with David Byne type shoulders were worn with white button-down shirts. It’s been years since men wore ties with suits, but they are back. Burton punctuated the shirts and jackets with skinny ties, and they looked fresh.
The main takeaway of the show was the idea of genderless clothing with both male and female models looking anything but classic in their unisex suiting. Burton deftly infused the looks with the McQueen edge like adding leather corsets over a white button-down shirt or slashing the top off of a long suit jacket to make a strapless dress. The pantsuits worn with simple white shirts and ties seemed like the perfect all-round ubiquitous garment. Suits are power outfits adding serious no nonsense vibe to the wearer. It’s a moment for Investing in a quiet luxury and a pantsuit is as classic as it gets.
Burton chose to limit the palette to black, white, or red, which served to put the focus on the strong silhouettes. The few stunning digital floral prints on evening dresses were outstanding. Funny enough, the attendees wore primarily black and white with red punctuations like a handbag. It’s unknown if the invite requested those colors to be worn, but it made for a visually strong show on and off the runway.
Here’s a snippet of the beginning of the show
