The McQueen show last night was a major moment if not for the return to a streamlined, edgy aesthetic than most certainly for the macabre kitsch of the staging. Life-size taxidermy called to mind a natural history museum and offered a dark, hysterical backdrop to a fascinating collection infused with Darwinian notes and echoes. Always the graphic artist, McQueen used fresh, psychedelic wood prints on razor sharp pants and his trademark skull motif appeared on a draped white tunic that will sell out in days. An asymmetrical cocktail dress appeared to be made of onyx liquid although in actuality it was the most finely draped silk fringe. McQueen's Savile Row training manifested itself in a series of suits and dresses cut close to the body in an exoskeletal print. This was about armor and shielding, perhaps notes on modern life, which evolved into a finale of crystal-encrusted jumpsuits and structured Balenciaga-inspired dresses that seemed to flourish on the precipice of evolutionary philosophy. If the progression of looks from the natural to the esoteric had the audience contemplating something deeper, McQueen himself pulled a finger to that thought by taking his bow in an easter bunny costume.
