Paris Fashion Week: Alexander McQueen

All eyes were on Sarah Burton in Paris, who's first Alexander McQueen collection since the death of its designer, Lee, would be a powerful show of the week. Whilst McQueen loved theatre and the fantastical, the House presented the collection on

stripped bare wooden floorboards with sprouts of grass emerging from between them, which no doubt pointed to a new beginning and director for the brand. Burton told Vogue.com "she didn’t feel she was as dark as McQueen", and the dresses she presented featuring the same McQueen exaggerated, stiffened silhouettes – though this time with a lightness of subject matter despite being as brilliantly and painstakingly constructed. Unanimous reviews highlighted the craftsmanship and exquisite make of the collection.

“I thought it was amazing and as if the McQueen woman had been unshackled somehow, she was freer than before,” said Alexandra Shulman. “Sarah’s done brilliantly – and now it will be interesting to see where she moves it on from here because the McQueen woman was rather complicated and dark - and there was nothing dark about that collection.”

Tim Blanks from Style.com said of the show: "It's hard to conceive of a more thankless task in fashion than taking over from a designer as galvanizing as Alexander "Lee" McQueen, but Sarah Burton is precisely the kind of quiet powerhouse who has what it takes to grab hold of his legacy and drag it where it needs to go to survive and prosper.

Image: McQueen AW09