2015 is shaping up to be a milestone year for Alexander McQueen. The sell-out Savage Beauty retrospective is set to open its doors at the V&A in March, while February marks the fifth anniversary of Lee McQueen's death. In its SS15 campaign photographed by David Sims, the brand employs light and shade to theatrical effect (though Karolin Wolter's severe 1940s eyebrows probably help too).
Creative director Sarah Burton explicitly namechecked Japan in her runway show – models in kabuki-esque masks walked the glossy black lacquer box flooring underneath the looming gaze of Marc Quinn's white orchid sculptures. At the time, it put us in mind of Kinbaku, Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki's rope bondage series.
That Far East influence is dialled back in the campaign, though there's still definite power play at work: after all, those are gym crash mats that Wolter is lying, not fluffy pillows. If you want to get with the McQueen woman this season, you'd best be prepared to wrestle.
