Lord of the Flies

Alexander McQueen has done it again. He has managed to push the boundaries and find unuaul inspiration in a piece of literature. Who knew that when we were struggling through compulsary Willian Golding's 'Lord of the flies' at school, it would serve as inspiration for a cutting-edge designer? But it did. For his spring/summer 2006 collection in Milan, McQueen played out the story on the catwalk brilliantly.

The models started the show looking crisp and clean cut in shirtsleeves, white suits, colourful pinstripes and funky school ties. They donned school caps, bermuda shorts and knee-high socks. The look screamed 'Hoorah Henry', 'Righty-ho, old chap'. However, the disintegration of civilization started to seep through a third of the way through the show. The jackets began showing tears, revealing bare skin. The trousers shrunk to three-quarter length and shorts. School ties were tied around the waist to hold up the trousers - implying weight loss on a deserted island - and tank tops replaced dress shirts.

The style took an eventual turn in favour of tribal prints and evolved into downright primal fashion. Feathers galore, bright coloured body paint and earthy tones transformed the models into raw, exotic-looking creatures. The show culminated in darkness; the models moved down the runway like rapacious birds of prey, sporting black shiny suits, dark feathered capes and black facial paint. Civilization had been fully abandoned in favour of survival.