Alexander McQueen Tailoring Guide: Jackets, Coats and Trousers, Explained for AW26

Alexander McQueen is a tailoring house before it is anything else. Lee McQueen left school for Savile Row, cut at Anderson & Sheppard and Gieves & Hawkes, and built the label on that training; the evening drama came later and sat on top of it. Under Seán McGirr the jackets, coats and trousers are the centre of the line again, and they are the best value in it. Below: the house cut, the strongest tailoring in stock at Luxury Handbags this autumn, and the sizing.

The McQueen cut, explained

Four signatures recur across the tailoring, and they are how you recognise a McQueen jacket from the back of a room. The peak shoulder, built high with internal structure so it holds its line all day, is the founder’s Savile Row inheritance; the Peak Shoulder Leaf Crepe Jacket carries it in its name. The corset waist is shaped by seams and, on the waistcoats, by visible lacing. The waterfall collar is this season’s idea, a wide rounded collar that rolls open like a spill of cloth, on the Waterfall Collar Coat and both waterfall jackets. And pinstripe, the Savile Row cloth, runs through the AW26 line in cedar brown and grey, from the cross lapel jacket to the mini skirt. Every piece is made in Italy.

The best Alexander McQueen tailoring in stock now

1. Waterfall Collar Coat, $6,430

New this September and the coat of the season. Black wool felt, double breasted with contrast buttons on the front and the cuffs, the waterfall collar rolling open over a peplum hem. It is cut regular through the body, so it takes a fine knit underneath without pulling.

2. Waterfall Collar Double-breasted Jacket, $4,810

The same collar on a cedar wool pinstripe jacket, double breasted, with a slit chest pocket, side flap pockets and a double vent. Worn with the matching pinstripe trousers it is the sharpest suit in the current line.

3. Waterfall Collar Single-breasted Jacket, $4,810

The black single breasted version, for the woman who wants the collar without the pinstripe. This is the jacket to wear over a slip dress after dark and over denim at the weekend.

4. Wool Pinstripe Cross Lapel Jacket, $4,500

Single breasted in grey melange wool pinstripe, with a structured high collar in tonal wool felt, peak lapel detailing and an asymmetric button fastening that closes the waist tighter than a standard front. The brand lists a slim fit. A boardroom piece with an edge.

5. Peak Shoulder Leaf Crepe Jacket in Black, $3,910

The house shoulder at full height in black leaf crepe, single breasted and nipped at the waist. If you buy one McQueen jacket to keep for a decade, this is the cut the founder would recognise.

6. Cropped Double-breasted Jacket, $4,960

Grey grisaille wool, double breasted with wide peak lapels, cropped to the waist and finished with a raw hem, which is exactly what a bumster trouser and a high waisted skirt both want above them. The brand notes a slim fit and suggests sizing up.

7. Off-the-shoulder Harness Jacket, $4,960

McGirr’s statement idea: a single breasted jacket in black grain de poudre with an off-the-shoulder neckline and a removable harness holding the line. It reads as tailoring rather than costume, and it needs nothing but a plain column underneath. Also in red gingham check and, at the top of the line, embroidered.

8. Embroidered Lapel Single-breasted Jacket, $7,750

A black wool single breasted jacket whose notched lapels carry bugle bead and crystal floral embroidery. Evening tailoring in the house tradition, for the black tie invitation that does not say gown.

9. Peplum Leather Jacket, $11,130

Smooth black leather cut into the house peplum silhouette, with a tonal corduroy collar, two flap pockets on the chest, two welt pockets at the sides and a front zip. Hard material on a soft shape, and the jacket the editors would keep.

10. Wool Felt Single-breasted Coat, $5,540

The winter investment: black wool, single breasted, with peak lapels, side jetted pockets and dart detailing that keeps the waist. It goes over every dress in the dress guide.

11. Wishbone Coat, $5,760

A wool coat with the gold metal wishbone hardware that gives it its name at the chest, a point collar, four flap pockets and a concealed front fastening. The brand notes a slim fit and suggests sizing up, and with a jacket underneath we agree.

12. Wool Pinstripe Trousers, $2,000

New this September: cedar wool pinstripe, straight leg, with a low waist and a heart shaped waistband at the back. They complete the suit with the double breasted jacket above.

13. Tailored Bootcut Trousers, $1,850

Pistachio wool gabardine, slim through the thigh and flared just enough at the hem to sit over a boot. The most affordable piece of new season tailoring in stock, and a colour the house has made its own this year.

14. Chevron Stripe Bumster Trousers, $3,490

The cut that made the house’s name in the nineties, back on the runway and in the line: a trouser cut low at the back to lengthen the torso. Balance it with the cropped jacket above and a tucked knit, never a long top.

15. Tuxedo Trousers, $2,300

Black Japanese wool barathea with tonal satin detailing, a low waist with a heart shape at the back and a straight leg: the evening trouser that turns the single breasted jacket into a tuxedo. Wear with the Corset Laced Waistcoat and nothing else.

How the tailoring fits

The house cuts on the Italian ladder, IT 36 to 50, listed at Luxury Handbags in UK sizes: IT 38 is a UK 6, IT 42 a UK 10. Of the tailoring we stock, the brand describes most jackets and coats as a regular fit and a handful as slim; on six jackets and two trousers it adds the note “consider sizing up”, among them the Cropped Double-breasted Jacket, the Silk Bomber Jacket, the corset laced waistcoats and the Slashed Zip Bootcut Jeans. Where the brand says nothing, take your usual size: the sharpness through the shoulder and waist is the point, and a size too big loses the line. The conversion table and every fit note are in the size guide.

What McQueen tailoring costs

On the brand’s own US site, checked on 11 September 2026, jackets run from $1,390 to $9,900 with a typical price around $2,990, coats from $3,300 to $7,700, trousers from $990 to $2,300 and skirts from $1,290 to $4,700. At Luxury Handbags the tailoring in stock runs from $1,560 for the Narrow Bootcut Trousers in Black to $11,420 for the Floral Embroidery Coat. The construction is what you pay for: internal canvas under the shoulder, waist seams instead of stretch, Italian mills for the cloth. Why McQueen costs what it costs goes through it piece by piece.

How to wear it

Keep what sits under a McQueen jacket close to the body: a silk cami, a fine knit, a waterfall collar shirt with the collar out. Match the trouser to the jacket for the suit, then break it up: the pinstripe jacket over jeans, the pinstripe trousers with a plain white shirt. A pointed boot in winter and a court shoe after dark. The full styling logic is in How to Wear Alexander McQueen.

Frequently asked questions

What is Alexander McQueen tailoring known for?

The peak shoulder, the corset waist and Savile Row construction. Lee McQueen apprenticed at Anderson & Sheppard and Gieves & Hawkes before founding the house in 1992, and the jackets still carry that training: high structured shoulders, waists shaped by seams, cloth from Italian mills, everything made in Italy.

Does Alexander McQueen make suits for women?

Yes. The current line pairs jackets and trousers in the same cloth. In stock at Luxury Handbags the Waterfall Collar Double-breasted Jacket and the Wool Pinstripe Trousers form a cedar pinstripe suit, and the Wool Pinstripe Cross Lapel Jacket pairs with the Wool Pinstripe Cigarette Trousers in grey.

How much is an Alexander McQueen jacket?

On the brand’s US site jackets run from $1,390 to $9,900, typically around $2,990 (11 September 2026). At Luxury Handbags jackets in stock run from $2,240 for the Chambray Shirt Jacket to $11,130 for the Peplum Leather Jacket.

Do Alexander McQueen jackets run small?

They are cut close through the shoulder and waist by design. The brand describes most as regular fit; on a handful of slim fit pieces it suggests sizing up, and Luxury Handbags lists that note on the product page. IT 38 equals UK 6 and US 2.

What is a waterfall collar?

A wide, rounded collar cut so it rolls open in a soft curve, like cloth spilling over the lapel. It is the defining detail of McQueen’s autumn winter 2026 tailoring, on the Waterfall Collar Coat, the double breasted and single breasted jackets and a shirt.

What are bumster trousers?

Trousers cut very low at the back waist to lengthen the torso, first shown by Lee McQueen in the mid nineties and one of the house’s founding ideas. The current version is the Chevron Stripe Bumster Trousers, in stock at Luxury Shoes .

Is Alexander McQueen tailoring made in Italy?

Yes. Every Alexander McQueen ready-to-wear piece Luxury Handbags stocks is made in Italy, and the country of origin is listed on each product page.

Read next

For the dresses the jackets go over, read the best McQueen dresses. For the new season in full, the AW26 edit. For the man behind this season’s collar, Sean McGirr’s McQueen. Shop the jackets, coats and trousers at Luxury Shoes , and the full Alexander McQueen collection, authenticity verified with worldwide shipping.