It is always an honor to have a piece of couture in the shop and to have a dress from the great Alexander McQueen is even more special! From the Fall 2006 ìWidows of Cullodenî collection,† this feather dress was produced in three shade - the olive, a black and the white as shown here. It encapsulates everything that is great about McQueen - the fantasy, the superior workmanship, the spectacle and of course the jaw dropping beauty! This was the collection that infamously featured Kate Moss suspended in a smoke as she seemed to dance on air - all the clever techno genius of a state of the art hologram. The dress is a confection of bias cut silk that swirls out in massive trapeze shape from the high ruffle collar and whose hem is completely circled in a 20" flounce of white feathers. Layers of chiffon make up that body and it bounces and moves with you. The entire front and back is heavily beaded in a metallic glass bead that acts almost like armor. Note the clever MQ worked into eh design. The collar is high and ruffled with antique references and an almost warrior fierceness. The combination of high romance and stark rawness was part of the genius of McQueen. A rare piece as these were made in very limited quantities - it is a masterpiece! Excellent condition.
The McQueen website has this to say of this collection:
With this collection McQueen revisits the subject matter of The Highland Rape ñ the show with which he made his name ñ but applies to similar territory a sophistication and expertise that reflects his experience as both couturier and designer.
The inspiration here is highly personal ñ the designerís own heritage ñ which goes at least some way towards explaining the exquisite hand-craftsmanship that goes into each piece as well, of course, as bird head-dresses and McQueen tartan. The collection is luxurious and romantic but melancholic and even austere at the same time. The silhouette ñ all nipped waists, bustles and exaggerated hip lines ñ is designed to exaggerate a womanís form and each piece is unique, a one-off couture creation with emotional content intended to be handed down from generation to generation like the most precious of heirlooms. Item# DD863
