Alexander McQueen's Spring '17 Is the Ultimate Fairy Tale Collection

Part warrior, part hippie, Alexander McQueen doubled down on the drama for Spring '17. That's to be expected with the label's legacy, its core customers, and the ever-imaginative Sarah Burton at the helm. Still, it's a transformative experience watching the runway — you go from feeling the easy t-shirts and jeans we're seeing all over the Fashion Week streets to craving these powerful pieces, ones that seem to say, "Why wear a top, when you could wear a leather bustier?" And you could, you really sense that you could, anyway. The layered leather-over-peasant dresses or the punky-plaid suiting and patchwork jackets seem to hold the key to a fashion identity that's so much more than clothes, tied to strength, romance, and beauty. The march of floral-embroidered ruffled gowns are enough to make even minimalists toss their simple black dresses, and the finale of ethereal, corsetted, sheer, and embellished gowns are the kind that deserve a spot in a film or on a stage — because who gets to wear these fairy-tale masterpieces in real life?