Style Speculation: Alexander McQueen Spring 2012 RTW

When I started the blog I used to do "Runway Monday" posts, where I'd take a collection and pick what I hoped the royals would wear from it. Obviously those posts are extinct now, but Paris Fashion Week has brought the fashion fortune teller back out of me. Care to play along?

Sarah Burton's most recent collection was definitely the true McQueen (something I honestly was relieved to see in full force, given that their most famous model these days is the quite un-McQueen Duchess of Cambridge). That means: a little bit of Victorian flair, a little bit of fetish, and a whole lot of artistry and stunning craftsmanship.

Alexander McQueen Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear

Potential royal models:

The Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie

The deal with McQueen is this: you don't wear the runway looks. There is a commercial collection put out that's tamed down for actual wear. If the past is any indication, the Duchess is most likely to pick from the tamest of those tame looks...and then possibly tame them down further. (That's not an insult, by the way: it takes a certain attitude to rock McQueen properly, and she doesn't have it. Which is okay, because you probably don't want that attitude in a future Queen of England anyway.) As I've said before, I do hope that Kate's continuing relationship with Sarah Burton will help her gain more confidence in her dressing, and some of the silhouettes from this collection would be great ways to manifest said confidence.

We might have a little more luck getting Beatrice or Eugenie to wear something resembling the proper collection. Neither is as much a McQueen client as Kate, but they've both dipped toes in and I'm hopeful they'll jump full in (especially considering there's a stylist in the mix there).

See the complete collection here.

The Resort 2012 Collection is also worth a look, since we haven't seen this in royal use yet:

Far more wearable right off the bat. I'm really, really hoping we get to see some of these wide belts in use; they'd look amazing both on those with curves to work with (Bea and Eug) and someone that could stand to have a few curves created (Kate).

See the complete collection here.

Any looks you're hoping to see get a royal outing?

{Psst: this replaces our regular Flashback Friday post today. Also, we'll be taking a look at a couple of the other big name Paris collections ripe for royal use over the weekend.}

Photos: Marcus Tondo/GoRunway.com/Alexander McQueen/Style.com