Seán McGirr’s Alexander McQueen Debut Got the Internet Talking
Massive tubular sweaters that engulf the wearer’s body, tube-like silhouettes that verge on sci-fi, and spades of shield-like dresses in cobalt blue and neon chartreuse: these are what make up the newest version of Alexander McQueen. On the rainiest night of Paris Fashion Week so far, newly-named creative director Seán McGirr presented his first collection for the brand in the SEGRO Centre Paris Les Gobelins (an old train station renovated into an urban logistics center), as guests covered themselves in highlighter-yellow blankets.
Tailoring manifested through leather trench coats and denim came wrapped and tied around the ankles, while fluffed up, furry textures were rendered into turtleneck tops and cocoon-like coats. Suit jackets were subverted, made longer with peaked shoulders that were extremely pointed and rounded. A collared shirt? Now flared up to the waist in a crescent shape. Margiela’s split-toe Tabi shoes may be having a moment, but have you met McGirr’s more literal hoof-shaped boots? Draped leopard-print gowns (both in neutrals and cherry red) were sculpted at the bust and revealed trains of fabric that trailed from the shoulders to the hemline.
Furry turtleneck tops.
A leopard look.
McGirr’s resume is undoubtedly impressive, having spent time working at Dries Van Noten and JW Anderson. And perhaps for better or worse, that showed in this debut collection. Some of the chunky hooded knits and the aforementioned sculpted, armor-esque dresses made out of steel which closed the show, looked like something that could have come straight off the Loewe runway—even if they were supposed nods to the McQueen archive. And yet, McGirr said he was looking at McQueen’s infamous Birds collection, otherwise known as the spring 1995 collection that became well-known for its deconstructed tailoring. He also cited Rei Kawakubo, Junya Watanabe, Issey Miyake, John Galliano, and Rick Owens as his favorite designers. In addition to all those factors that clearly proved influential to the assortment, the show notes detailed, “A rough opulence. Revealing the animal within. A compressed and elongated silhouette. Objects embedded and enveloped. Knitted statuary.”
Studded leather jackets and broad-shouldered pinstripe suits stood in as some of the most wearable options. Fur-textured dresses in mohair and shearling with knitted arms offered up a textural wonderland. There were also sequined dresses with cascading embellishments and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, tightly fitting henley tops with baggy trousers. All in all, there were lots of ideas to choose from, but arguably too many, not to mention a palpable lack of the extreme romance we’d see from Burton or the grotesque juxtapositions we’d get from the namesake founder. The black laminated jersey dress that opened the collection was beautiful, and the extreme mohair corset tops with shoulders up to the ears (paired with jeans!) were highlights, at least for social media. The arms tucked into the garments gave the clothes a cool, restricted feel. McQueen icon Debra Shaw walked the runway, and Gen Z’s arbiter of cool Emma Chamberlain sat front row.
Seán McGirr walks the runway after showing his debut collection for Alexander McQueen.
Still, fans of both Lee Alexander McQueen and former creative director Sarah Burton are often ecstatic devotees with strongly-formed opinions. As such, many seem to have their own thoughts about McGirr’s debut and what it means for the direction of the brand. One of the most interesting things to consider is the kind of discourse and reaction the original McQueen collections created. A lot of times, these were reactions based on concept rather than aesthetic. But consider the fact that McGirr recently stated of his debut: “It has to provoke a reaction; that’s the DNA of the brand. McQueen is also about aggression, but playful aggression.” The current discourse coming from the collection online could be said to be more active and engaged than in recent years—maybe even more fiercely divided than any collection Burton ever did. You only have to reference the comment section of any Instagram post on the show to see that.
Time will only tell what else McGirr will do to make McQueen his own while honoring the history of the label. For now, we’re all engaged and waiting. Also, the fact is, meaningful fashion doesn’t have to suit everyone’s taste—or rather, doesn’t need to be understood by all—but at the very least, it should incite strong feelings and thoughts. And McGirr’s debut certainly did just that.
Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2024
Kristen Bateman is a contributing editor at Harper’s Bazaar. Her first fashion article was published in Vogue Italia during her junior year of high school. Since then, she has interned and contributed to WWD, Glamour, Lucky, i-D, Marie Claire and more. She created and writes the #ChicEats column and covers fashion and culture for Bazaar. When not writing, she follows the latest runway collections, dyes her hair to match her mood, and practices her Italian in hopes of scoring 90% off Prada at the Tuscan outlets. She loves vintage shopping, dessert and cats.