Alexander McQueen paused to remember the ancestry of its late founder with a menswear show which centred around the kilt.
Unveiled on the catwalk at London Collections: Men this evening, the house's offering for autumn/winter 14 saw the classic Scottish skirt shape reinterpreated in dark Prince of Wales check and pastel pink.
The result was one that would have delighted Lee McQueen who, despite an Essex upbringing, regularly sought to celebrate Scotland - the birth place of his father - within his work.
Of course this being the world's most innovate fashion house, there was little that was retrospective here. These were new ideas.
Citing the works of street photographer John Deakin and in particular his portraits of Lucian Freud and the recently deceased poet Oliver Bernard as her inspiration, creative director Sarah Burton chose a colour palette of tonal grey and monochrome to serve as the foundation to this collection before weaving versions of the works onto the back of coats.
Shirts printed with versions of the photographs appeared alongside heavy duty angora knits and exquisitely tailored flannel suiting creating a haunting contrast between the old and the new. This was a refined menswear offering which left McQueen's loyal tailoring customers wanting for nothing- even if wearing a kilt to the office takes their fancy next winter.
Stunning jackets detailed with metallic ribbon trim details were among this show's other highlights.
