It was a collection of hits, and Cate Blanchett, Elle Fanning and Anna Wintour were among those who turned out to see it.
Sarah Burton’s final show for Alexander McQueen last night was always going to pose more questions than it resolved. Namely, why is a designer of such virtuosity
Given Burton’s high regard for privacy, we still know very little about the circumstances of her exit. In 2014, she told The Telegraph she hadn’t ever wanted the job of fronting a fashion house.
“There have been times when, if I could have disappeared from this industry, I would have. I had to battle with it. I don’t look like a fashion person, I’m not cool.” You can imagine her being somewhat freaked out by the screaming crowds outside her last show.
What we do know, from this finale, is that she’s at the top of her game. With Elle Fanning in a sweeping Catherine the Great-style McQueen ball dress, Cate Blanchett in a black McQueen trouser suit, Anna Wintour in a navy and white silk floral column gown and Eva Green in silver beaded military attire, her VIP front row helpfully displayed Burton’s greatest hits, before the show even began lots of guests also wore McQueen red.
If Burton simply wants time out from an industry that doesn’t merely require design evolution, but psychodramas (there have been major changes recently at Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Burberry), she has surely earned it. But we will never know. Her circle remains utterly discreet.
In the 13 years she has headed up Alexander McQueen, Burton purposefully but quietly effected an extraordinary change in its DNA, rearranging its chromosomes with the skill of an insanely brilliant geneticist who knew right from the start what she wanted to do. The dark, hard, violent romanticism gradually became lighter and softer, and exquisitely made.
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No wonder the Princess of Wales chose to wear Sarah Burton for McQueen for so many important events in her royal life, starting with that wedding dress in 2011 and culminating in the trouser suits she now routinely wears on public duties.
Looking back at my reviews of her shows, there was never a dud, only varying interpretations of beauty and an outstanding commitment to craft. When she showed me the rail of toiles she had been working on for her 2018 spring/summer collection, I realised two things (as I wrote at the time): 1. She’s a crazy perfectionist, and 2. No matter how much McQueen’s clothes cost, they’re not overcharging.
So what next for Burton? And Kate’s wardrobe? Burton’s silence hasn’t stemmed speculation. My favourite crazy rumour is that she could replace Virginie Viard at Chanel. The flaw in that theory (apart from Viard seeming entrenched there) is that Burton really isn’t a Chanel kind of woman, although she would do the job beautifully. And if Kate were to wear Chanel regularly, that could create a whole new special relationship.
