Sarah Burton talks McQueen menswear

For autumn/winter 2016, we started off with the idea of Charles Darwin and his fascination with exploration and really liked the concept of the Victorian collector, someone who compiles specimens and treasures. We wanted to take the staples of the wardrobe of that time – the tailcoat, the crombie, the three-piece suit – and make it feel relevant to now.

There's a romanticism to the new pieces; I wanted them to have a beauty to them, similar to what I'd put into the womenswear collection. This comes through particularly in the sequin embroidery seen on some of the men's coats and with the jewellery, we've taken the ideas of talismans and precious treasures and interpreted them in a very McQueen way.

Another inspiration drawn from the women's shows is the loosening of silhouettes. There's a softness to the men's pieces, so you aren't trussed up and rigid. A lot of the hemlines are loose and I deconstructed them so they're fraying. Even on the silk coats, we've kept them a bit unfinished and eaten away at the ends.

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Ultimately, we aimed to take it back to real menswear – it's about creating desirable pieces that you can take away and wear now, without it feeling too historical.

SARAH BURTON is the creative director of Alexander McQueen; alexandermcqueen.com