Alexander McQueen AW22 was an homage to fungus and secret connections.
Mycelium, the root-like fungal structures connecting flora underground, served as the theme for Alexander McQueen’s AW 22 Womenswear collection. Seated in a studio filled with large piles of mulch, fragrant like rain, we waited for the show while listening to a soundtrack of nature noises and ambient tones looping around each other.
The idea of a buried connection between all things, a hidden structure sustaining a vast ecosystem, was the collection’s guiding metaphor. For creative director Sarah Burton, mycelium also represented the identity of the brand transplanted to another continent. This season, McQueen showed in New York for the first time since 1999. The influence of the city on the design was strong, a Londoner’s take on a romanticized 1980s downtown Manhattan. Leather jackets were tailored to look like they were gracefully sliding off the shoulders of models without ever falling, and spray painted suits recalled old subway graffiti.
The process of decomposition, breaking down biomatter, is also a process of nourishing growth by repurposing its nutrients elsewhere. Death and regeneration are united in a single process. One dress appeared to be in a state of decay at a distance, but up close the finely patterned black lacquered lace revealed an intricate texture. In the penultimate look, a wool mohair jacket ended halfway up the model’s torso before erupting into a cloud of black tulle like a puffball mushroom releasing its fume of spores.In addition to elegant crystal mycelium embroidery and mushroom prints, a few looks playfully alluded to the psychedelic properties of certain mushrooms. Vibrant, colorful dresses with long, dangling tassels were redolent of classic 1960s psychedelic style and design.
Overall, the show was a unique exploration of creative cross-pollination, hidden networks of imagination connecting distant eras and places, and the restorative qualities of art.
