Pregnant Sarah Burton unveils a nocturnal collection for Alexander McQueen as she makes her return to London Fashion Week

Speaking backstage, Burton confirmed that her intention had always been to show this collection in London
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Karen Dacre22 February 2016

At a fashion show staged just weeks before she is due to give birth, designer Sarah Burton unveiled her latest collection for Alexander McQueen last night.

Back in the capital for one season only, Burton - who usually unveils her womenswear collections in Paris - brought comfort to London Fashion Week attendees with a show which took the sanctity of the nighttime as its inspiration.

Clearly in the mood to nest, the North London based designer cited femininity and a world that comes alive after dark as a starting point for a showcase which saw delicate beaded gowns worn layered beneath pastel duvet jackets laden with painstaking emboridery.

She also suggested that nocturnal creatures and artefacts had been on her mind with moths, clock faces and delicate night blooming flowers such as jasmine and magnolia embroidered onto jet black coats or fashioned from lace and used as trimmings on gowns.

Jeff Moore

Burton promised a "a magical spirit beneath a skylit sky". Accordingly, her night creatures sleep walked along the catwalk with tiaras and unravelling braids positioned upon their heads.

Haunting, but never sinisterly so, this show was a far cry from the forbidding disquieting dramatics that defined Lee Alexander McQueen's heyday.

Fragile asymmetric lace dresses and bralets worn layered under jackets emphasised the initial idea that beauty can be found within blackness while embroidered sandals lined with sugary pink fur served as proof that this was a collection created with comfort in mind.

But there were hard edges to be found here here too. Notably, among the tailoring within this collection which was among the finest unveiled at a McQueen show in recent seasons.

Double layered tuxedo jackets with peaked shoulders served as a nod to McQueen's early years as a Savile Row tailor while flared trousers with cutaway panels served to remind those present that this is a fashion house that will always veer towards the unconventional.

Jeff Moore

Marabou feather skirts and painstakingly embroidered sheer gowns are just a few examples of the ways in which Burton - who took over from her predecessor following his death in 2011 - continue to serve as a vessel for Lee McQueen’s vision.

Speaking backstage after the show Burton, already mother to twins, cited eiderdowns and "the idea of being wrapped up in a duvet" among her inspirations and confirmed that her intention had always been to show this collection in London, revealing that her chosen venue in Victoria venue was also the site of her very first show at the brand, staged twenty years ago.

Burton added: “ Of course no matter where we are, there’s always a Britishness and a strong sense of englishness to what we do. it’s where we all live. It’s where we’re based. It’s where our hearts are”

What a delight it is to have her home.

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