Dressful

Fresh out: ad campaign for Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2011/12 "ice queen" collection by Sarah Burton, featuring model Raquel Zimmermann, shot by David Sims. I love how the focal point of this campaign isn't necessarily clothes, it's more about creating atmosphere and setting the sinister and beautiful McQueen mood. It reminds me of posters for epic, dark movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, except the campaign is way better because it's fashion. Duh. 

Photos from Alexander McQueen Facebook.

While Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2011 was a majestic tribute to McQueen's work, the new Fall/Winter 2011/12 collection is more about Sarah Burton moving towards doing her own thing. A transition point between McQueen's legacy and Burton's vision of McQueen's legacy.

There are several stunning, breathtaking pieces in this collection, but overall it lacks the wow factor of McQueen's work. Nothing terrible for a collection at such a not yet certain point, though. It'd be foolish to expect all future McQueen collections will be McQueen and only McQueen, or to believe that Sarah Burton can somehow become his reincarnation. I'm looking forward to her developing her own wow factor.

Oh, and these shoes? You need a licence to kill.

Photos from vogue.com

I got the idea to put together this list during London Fashion Week. Although I thought a lot of the shoes presented there would look better in fall and winter, I realized the list wasn't going to suffer one bit after seeing the Milan and Paris shows. FYI, this selection of the crème de la crème is arranged randomly because I don't have the heart (and nerves) to pick favorites among favorites. Enjoy!

1. Alexander McQueen: These are the kind of shoes you put on display in your living room so that you (and your guests) can drool over them every chance you get. Bonus points if you wear them outside of said living room!

2. Hermès: These sandals are a recapitulation of the entire Hermès Spring/Summer 2011 collection. No-nonsense, incredibly sophisticated, versatile and most of all wearable.

3. Max Mara: Hands down the most gorgeous shade of violet. The shoe design isn't complicated, but it stands out for the white heel that sometimes looks invisible.

4. Dior: The Dior Spring/Summer 2011 shoes come in a variety of crazy colorways. Some of them are very eccentric (many colors in one place), but this one is just perfect. What a fun sandal!

5. Donna Karan: This shoe mentally transports you to a beach bar playing lounge music where you sip cocktails all day in the breeze and time seems to have stopped. Thank you, Donna Karan, for this splendid association!

6. Martin Margiela: I'm a huge fan of shoes that don't look like shoes, so obviously I had to include these in the list. The only downside to them is that they immediately fill up with water when it rains. Indoor use only, please!

7. Emporio Armani: Goodness, this pink is delicious. It also complements the heel color (it's so rare that I don't know what to call it, any ideas?) in the most elegant way.

8. Ralph Lauren: Classy in a very Ralph Lauren/American way, but they wouldn't look out of place anywhere else in the world. The heel won't kill you either, which is always a plus!

9. Etro: I think that trends dragging from season to season should be avoided, but I love the use of rounded studs on this wedge. They make it special without any additional hassle.

10. Gucci: Quintessential sexy Gucci sandals. They exist solely to dazzle everyone within the 5 mile radius and probably make you feel you can do anything. Mission completed!

Photos from vogue.com

Everyone knew that Sarah Burton's first collection for Alexander McQueen would be either a hit or miss, no middle ground. Everyone also knew that she possibly had the most difficult job you can imagine in fashion, given how specific the late McQueen's work was. This collection is an incredibly well-executed hotchpotch of his most successful designs. It doesn't bother me that it was clearly based on archives; rather, I'm happy to see that McQueen's vision has not been misappropriated in the least.

I believe that these designs provide a very good starting point for Burton; she's definitely the one person able to take the brand to another level and her next collection might surprise us even more than this one. What I appreciate the most about the clothes is that they have retained McQueen's sense of majesty, the characteristic that always set him apart from everybody else. You cannot copy it blindly; to create it, you first have to understand it.

Photos from vogue.com