Alexander McQueen, A/W 2009
Manuel Albarran, Metal Couture Collection

Tilmann Grawe for Swarovski Runway

Alexander McQueen, Manuel Albarran and Tilmann Grawe's work fuses historical inspiration with futurism. All three designers having thrived from a multi-media approach to couture, have created armour with a delicate beauty. Alien features in cold metal fashion an abstract intimacy. In these examples, the armour disables the wearer from speaking perhaps because it's the couture that's meant to do the talking.