27OldBondStreet 2 Roses

ROSES Installation Two CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY, NOVEMBER 2019 - PRESENT

The symbolism of flowers is rooted in the power of nature. The centrepieces of the installation are two spectacular finale pieces designed around the form and energy of flowers: the swirling red Rose dress by Sarah Burton which walked as the finale of the Autumn/Winter 2019 show, and the poetic dress Lee Alexander McQueen constructed with fresh flowers for the end of the Sarabande show for Spring/Summer 2007. The Red Rose dress stands in a cluster of materials which document how its petal-like 3-D form came to life. Samples of work-in-progress and background research are arranged around a studio cutting table at which practical masterclasses and interactive discussions with students will take place. A video follows Head of Atelier Judy Halil as she makes the dress itself, a step-by-step demonstration which makes the expertise of the studio at Alexander McQueen real and tangible.

The Sarabande dress was once filled with fresh flowers. It now occupies a position at the entrance, alongside more of the pieces which have flowers and petals trapped between layers of tulle or spilling from necklines and cuffs from the same Spring/Summer 2007 collection. The dresses lead to a walk-in glass cylinder. Inside, the original video of the flower dress making its entrance on the stage at the Paris Cirque d’Hiver show is playing.

Further juxtapositions of dresses with English roses, camellias, exploded carnation-shapes, garden flowers and bees unfold throughout the space.

Sarah Burton relates in a typographical video, how her flower iconography has sprung up, always differently, in these collections. Her account captures the exact memories behind each collection: team field-trips to gardens, historical houses, and museums, the crucial hands-on parts played by the fabric and embroidery teams, right down to the collaboration of students on placement. Visitors are invited to pick up the labels on each mannequin to read the composition of each dress. A facsimile of the original Sarabande show invitation and a poster for Roses celebrate the installation at Alexander McQueen, 27 Old Bond Street.