Sarah Burton mentioned the 19th-century photographs of Julia Margaret Cameron and the 19th-century novel Far From the Madding Crowd as reference points for Alexander McQueen's Pre-Fall collection. So far, so historical, as reference points go, and therefore, so in keeping with the ethos that a lot of people would attach to the label. Lee McQueen's obsessive historicism brought a lot of beauty and romance to his work. But look again at the women in Cameron's photos, take on board the fact that it was Julie Christie in the film version of Madding Crowd that Burton was thinking about, and a slightly different picture emerged. "How do you make historic nods feel like you want to wear them now?" That was the question the designer was asking—and, more specifically, how to make things she wanted herself.
It helped that she was working on her men's and Pre-Fall collections at the same time. Burton loves the frock-coat silhouette—it gave Pre-Fall its flair. The acute tailoring sliced with floral detailing was also a lift from menswear. If the whitework harked back to the 19th century, it was paired with exploded piqués and cut into pretty skating dresses. Wear such a dress with the chunky loafers that were one of the shoe styles on offer and you'd omit the prettiness and up the attitude. Same with all the leather that Burton showed. She draped and ruffled it, even when she used it for a biker, then slung a wide belt around it to create a hyper-waisted silhouette that felt like a contemporary take on the dressy '30s tailoring McQueen himself loved. It looked irresistible in a ruffled skirt in suede topped by a felted cashmere military jacket with epaulets.
