The house’s Spring/Summer 2023 menswear collection takes inspiration from “supernature, the cosmos and the night sky”
For Spring/Summer 2023, Alexander McQueen has presented a men’s collection that draws inspiration from a glistening cosmos, lightyears away. Through a 29-piece lookbook, creative director Sarah Burton distilled the numinous quality of stargazing while combining their signature, finely-tuned craftsmanship with unearthly, supernatural inspiration.
The lookbook – made up of clean silhouettes and tasteful, sometimes twisted tailoring – features singular lapels upturned in the suiting, creating a sharp new neckline. Also key are leathers in the form of harnesses, bags, bomber jackets and wide-leg trousers, adding subtle notions of kink. Though mostly black and white in palette, muted shades are introduced that are “reminiscent of the evening glow”.
Delicate clusters of crystal embroidery increase in size as the lookbook progresses, crescendoing with the final look which features a tailored coat embellished with a large shooting star, made up of silver sequin and crystal astral embroidery. Elsewhere, urban, painterly strokes in black and pink are scanned and printed onto soft, off-white tailoring.
It’s a pared-back version of McQueen from what we’ve seen from previous collections, where inspirations have been sourced from mushrooms for A/W22, or the ever-changing skies for S/S22. In this case, much like the stars, the looks are constant, familiar, and timeless.