As Sarah Burton takes her final bow at Alexander McQueen today, it’s time to celebrate who she is – the designer, the woman, the incredibly discreet character who has led the London house on the international stage since 2010. Likely, she’ll do it just as she has from the beginning – in jeans, shirt and trainers, with her pin-cushion strapped to her arm. Because that’s what Sarah’s been doing backstage – perfecting everything, hands-on, right up to the last moment.
The one thing Sarah Burton’s stubbornly bad at is tooting her own horn. Eddie Redmayne, who got to know her 15 years ago, says, “Her self-deprecation belies her utter and unique brilliance. She is so staggeringly talented and yet wears that genius so lightly.” A private client who came to McQueen for her wedding dress says, “She does drama and romance at an incredible level, yet she has zero ego about it.”
It’s the factor that means that – despite all of Sarah’s achievements and accolades – she is still one of the most anti-famous of famous designers. Should she fancy a second career, her honourable ability to keep a confidence might qualify her as a member of His Majesty’s Secret Service. In 2011, she persisted in saying a convincing point-blank “no” to every journalist who asked if she was making Catherine Middleton’s wedding dress. The next thing, an aerial shot’s being beamed around the globe from Westminster Abbey clearly showing Sarah Burton kneeling to fix Catherine’s almost nine-foot train – a dress made with the utmost subterfuge, with the extraordinary atelier and embroidery expertise at McQueen, to huge success.
The Duchess of Cambridge, now the Princess of Wales, has been a McQueen client ever since. Sarah’s custom designs for state occasions have struck a note of neat, modern formality – her impeccably-fitted coat-dresses a speciality. The latest triumph was the Princess of Wales’s long white dress for the Coronation in May – and a perfect, tiny white caped coat for her daughter Princess Charlotte. It was another unforgettably well-judged image contributed by Sarah Burton to the history of the British monarchy.
