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"  Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  After seeing Alexander McQueen&amp;#039;s beaded and feathered rhapsody on the runway, we knew we had to get more than a zoom-lens glance at the collection. So off we went, through the winding streets of Paris&amp;#039; bohemian Marais district, and into the tiny white boite\u2014hidden behind a crumbling stone wall\u2014where designer Sarah Burton&amp;#039;s latest inventions were lying in wait. Here&amp;#039;s what we discovered from getting this-close to the clothes and accessories that will help define spring&amp;#039;s new look.  Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  1. The show&amp;#039;s unofficial muse was Josephine Baker. There&amp;#039;s only one Parisian icon who mixed tribal iconography with flapper elements and turned it into fashion: the famous danceuse Josephine Baker. Between the jazz-age touches and the beaded, feathered textures in the show, Baker&amp;#039;s style influence was everywhere.  Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  2. The collection&amp;#039;s feathered bodices took over a week to hand-stitch. If you have the patience to sew black seed beads onto a soft-cotton piece of material, then loop thousands of individual white feathers through each and every hole, then you should Facebook Ms. Burton immediately\u2014she might have a job for you.   Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  3. Many of the more ornate dresses weighed about 20 lbs. McQueen&amp;#039;s longtime in-house model Polina Kasina deserves an Olympic medal for sporting the striking beaded dress (which also came with a hoop-skirt underneath!). She did so while wearing high plastic-resin heels and a super-serene expression.  Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  4. Speaking of those heels... The runway shoes were made of leather and specially cast pieces of plastic resin designed to look like candy-colored tortoise shell. (They were so delicate, there were even fears of breakage on the runway, which fortunately didn&amp;#039;t happen!)   Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  5. Almost-identical versions of the runway collection will be sold in stores\u2014but they won&amp;#039;t be nearly as heavy. Can you tell the difference between these two jackets? The one seen on the runway weighs three times as much as the other\u2014and was created with crocodile leather and die-cast zippers. The other can be seen in your closet in 2014\u2026  Photo: Courtesy of Faran Krentcil  6. New skull scarves are here!. And they&amp;#039;re to die for. (Yes, sorry.) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a18780/mcqueen-details-2014/>