This spectacular Alexander McQueen dress is from the Pre-fall 2016 collection. The presentation version was far more elaborate but I think I prefer this one. It allows you to really see the pattern on the lace and I think can be worn to more functions with its simpler more versatile feel. Vogue's Sarah Mower said in part of this collection; 'There’s a sensuous glamour emerging through Pre-Fall which seems to be hovering somewhere around the ’30s or ’40s. Sarah Burton has pinned it to a theme she called “thinking about a woman’s obsession with the possessions she treasures, like her jewelry and makeup, and the things she collects.” This Pre-Fall character is a properly elegant woman, with red lipstick and a penchant for feather chubbies and velvet ankle-strap platforms, who might reach into her extensive wardrobe and choose between any number of fragile, dramatic gowns for an evening out.' and the lace butterfly dresses were mentioned specifically; 'Well, it’s a delight when fashion can make you fantasize for a moment. Yet the fact is that Sarah Burton has steered this collection gently away from too much stylization. “It's quite feminine, and unconstructed,” is the way she puts it. The patterns of lipsticks, Fabergé eggs, butterflies, birds, and the McQueen skull motif appear as prints on silk dresses and on coats, as well as on the show-stopping embroidered sheer gowns.'

The dress is almost startling in its beauty. It is made from an inner taupey nude silk that acts as the backdrop for the black net lace that sits over it. This allows you to fully appreciate the pattern that is worked through the lace. From a distance it acts as an illusion that you are bare under the lace. The lace itself has large butterflies worked through it that are beautiful. Every line of the dress is perfection. It falls from the shoulder to follow the curve of your body. Seams worked through the dress create the shape that you see but they have taken great care to line up the pattern of the lace along each seam so that your eye is not broken and the pattern remains true as it trails across the dress. From the waist is falls in one long sheath to the floor widening out gently as it reaches the hem. At the back it has a large curved cut out that leaves you entire back bare and exposed. So when you walk away it has a very sensual and sexy feel. The sleeves are the final touch and they are fantastic. Each is unlined so that you see bare skin through the lace. They are cut high and peaked at the top of the shoulder with a little bit of tulle at the inner edge to hold their shape. It is spectacular and a wonderful example of Sarah's earlier work. It is a wonderful dress now and will be a collectible in the future. Excellent condition

Fully lined in silk as described above and closes with a low set hidden zipper at the back. Three button and loops behind the neck. Each cuff zippers to close. Tagged a modern McQueen 42. 

Sleeves: 25"
Inset shoulders: 13" with natural shoulders approx 15"
Bust: to 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 58" from neck to hem
Neck: 14" around

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3964

Reference Photo: Pre-Fall 2016 Alexander McQueen Collection, Look 33.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.