In Bond Street in London there is a beautiful Alexander McQueen store, recently refurbished and with a top floor dedicated to exhibitions featuring garments from past collections and the creative process behind them. The current exhibition is named ‘Roses’ and garden lovers will quickly spot the unmistakable towers of Sissinghurst and the characteristic oast house rooftops of Great Dixter when looking at the inspiration photos.
It is a joy to get to see the sketches, notes and swatches that document the process of creating each dress. The finished garments are also on display and each one has enough detail to keep you looking for ages – a bit like an exquisite flower with layers of petals.
The abundance and layers of flowers of a quintessential English garden. Hard not to be inspired!
That thing about gorgeous handwriting again. Lovely.
Bee keeper chic – totally exquisite beadwork and honeycomb smocking.
Just look at those bees! 💛
The vivid green and transparent blue of a flax field.
Layers of pleated, ombré dyed and laser cut silk manipulated around the body. There are toiles (prototype garments) on a rail which you can touch and examine inside out, and a video where the head of the Atelier explains the intricate process of creating one of the dresses on show.
It feels so generous of McQueen to share in this way, to invite visitors to have a closer look and give us a glimpse into the thought process behind the work on show. I can imagine how inspiring this exhibition would be to any young fashion student – if I was at fashion college now I think I would be camping out at the store! Well worth a visit for anyone interested in beautiful clothes and garment making craft.
