At 7 pm New York time tonight I was vaulted into heights of giddy optimism, when Twitter lit up like a house afire over the alleged sighting of Alexander McQueen creative director Sarah Burton arriving at the Goring Hotel, where Catherine Middleton spends her last night as a commoner before emerging from Westminster Abbey tomorrow morning a princess ...
The rumors that McQueen might be the chosen label for Middleton's wedding dress bubbled up almost from the moment the engagement was announced in January. Quick denials were issued by the house, though I never quite believed it. There was no proof to the contrary, of course; as a devout fan of McQueen, I just wanted to believe that Middleton would choose a gown not only fit for a future queen, but which also emerged from the mind and hands of this most poetic man, whose painstaking passion elevated fashion to art season after season. If true, the choice adds yet another layer of romance to a story already imbued with massive doses of fairytale. (She's wearing his mother's ring; that's all anyone ever had to tell me.)
And so tonight I hope and wish anew. After the (still-unconfirmed) Burton photo (above) was released, accompanied by conjecture that Middleton not only had chosen McQueen, but indeed a vintage design from the house's archives, I e-raced to my forever-favorite McQueen collection: Fall 2008. A flawless melange of British colonialism, luscious embroideries from India, and lighter-than-air tulle and feather treatments, the collection was roundly agreed to be nothing less than a rhapsody. This exquisite presentation can be viewed on Style.com in its entirety
here, but for now, feast on the three designs at right and below. Maybe it's no accident that this is also the collection which McQueen said at the time was partly inspired by Queen Victoria. The past meets the future? Until tomorrow morning, we can only hope ...
