Up at the crack of dawn to see the Alexander McQueen show at the V&A before the crowds - but it was crowded even at 830am. Extraordinary clothes - intended to be worn to assume new personae and also to change a way of existing... corsets, chopines, chokers, low slung trousers, billowing jackets all change the way you move.At times I did wonder what he was doing to women - the catalogue defends him ably against charges of racism and misogyny.
Perhaps easiest just to think about the garments and how stunning they are....
"I think there has to be an underlying sexuality. There has to be a perverseness to the clothes. There is a hidden agenda to the fragility of romance. I'm not big on women looking naive."No sign at all of traditional decolletage - instead McQueen encases breasts in mussel shells or glass or razor clams.
How splendid are these jackets.
Outside summer plants are bursting through banners - a nice touch.
