The Virgin Queen by McQueen

While I do follow women's fashion, regular readers know that I only usually blog about men's fashion. But I will occasionally make an exception and the newest McQueen F/W 2013 collection is certainly one of those occasions.

Sarah Burton reached back to the final Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I, as inspiration for this amazing collection.

Look at the wide net veils embellished with teardrop pearls, and those fascinating glove-less fingers! Cinched waists and hip rolls, pearl embroidery, hoop skirts, caging and corsetry... all of her choices come from an historical context. The looks come in pairs: watch how they come together after the final walk...

This bodice...

...was inspired by cathedral ceilings like these:

The detailing in this collection is simply staggering. Head over to the McQueen website to see still photos of the runway looks and zoom in to see the mind-boggling stitching and soutache and embroidery...
http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/alexandermcqueen/experience/2013-womens-aw-fashion-show/2013-womens-aw-fashion-show,en_US,pg.html