Seán McGirr’s Alexander McQueen: The New Era, Explained

Every McQueen era has a thesis. Lee McQueen’s was tailoring as theatre. Sarah Burton’s was craft as continuity, thirteen years of it, including a royal wedding dress. Seán McGirr’s, five seasons in, is now clear: strip the codes back to their sharpest form and cut them for a wardrobe as much as a runway. If you are deciding whether new McQueen is your McQueen, this is the era explained, with the pieces that define it.

Who is Seán McGirr?

Born in Dublin, McGirr took the MA in Fashion at Central Saint Martins in 2014 under the late Louise Wilson, the same course that produced the founder. He worked at Dries Van Noten on womenswear, in Uniqlo’s creative offices in Tokyo, briefly at Burberry and Vogue Hommes Japan, and then at JW Anderson, where he was head of ready-to-wear. Kering named him creative director of Alexander McQueen on 3 October 2023, succeeding Sarah Burton after her final show that September. His debut, the autumn winter 2024 collection for women and men, showed in Paris on 2 March 2024 in a former train shed, to reviews that praised the setting and the energy and questioned the tailoring; by his third and fourth seasons the tailoring had become the strongest part of the line.

The thesis: founder codes, sharpened

McGirr designs against the founder’s archive rather than around it. The peak shoulder is back at full height on the tailoring. Corsetry structures everything from the Corset Midi Dress to the laced waistcoats. The bumster, the low back waist Lee McQueen made famous, returns on the Chevron Stripe Bumster Trousers. His spring 2026 show reworked the idea of the uniform into eveningwear, which is where the Uniform Midi Dress and its leather version come from, and the autumn winter 2026 line adds a code of his own: the waterfall collar, a rounded collar that rolls open like a spill of cloth, on the Waterfall Collar Coat, two jackets and a shirt.

The pieces that define the era

• Waterfall Collar Coat, $6,430: the signature of his AW26.
• Off-the-shoulder Harness Jacket, $4,960: the classic McQueen jacket with the shoulder bared.
• Chevron Stripe Bumster Trousers, $3,490: the founder’s cut, reissued.
• Metallic Knit Mini Dress, $5,540: paper yarn and metal rings, the new evening idea.
• Leather Uniform Midi Dress, $9,660: the spring 2026 uniform thesis in burgundy lambskin.

What changed for buyers

Three practical things. First, the tailoring is the centre of the line again, and it is the strongest value in the collection: the tailoring guide ranks it. Second, the drama is more wearable: harness jackets read as statement tailoring rather than costume, and the metallic knits do evening without a gown. Third, nothing changed in the fit contract: the house still cuts on the Italian ladder, true to size, sized IT 36 to 50 on key pieces, with the brand flagging the slim fit pieces where it suggests sizing up (see the size guide).

The business behind the era

McGirr’s appointment came at a hard moment for the house. McQueen is around five per cent of Kering’s revenue, sales fell sharply over the three years to early 2026, and the group cut staff in London and Italy before naming Gianfranco D’Attis, formerly chief executive of Prada, as McQueen’s chief executive from 3 June 2026 with a brief to refocus the brand. For buyers the practical effect is a tighter, more commercial line, and the AW26 tailoring is the clearest evidence of it.

Where to start with the new era

The AW26 edit ranks the strongest pieces, from the Waterfall Collar Coat to the embroidered gown. For the full picture read the house story and the skull’s history, then shop the Alexander McQueen collection at Luxury Shoes , authenticity verified with worldwide shipping.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the creative director of Alexander McQueen?

Seán McGirr, appointed by Kering on 3 October 2023. He succeeded Sarah Burton, who led the house from May 2010 until her final show in September 2023.

Where is Seán McGirr from?

Dublin, Ireland. He trained at Central Saint Martins in London, graduating from the MA in 2014, and worked at Dries Van Noten, Uniqlo, Burberry and JW Anderson before McQueen.

When was Seán McGirr’s first Alexander McQueen show?

On 2 March 2024 in Paris, the autumn winter 2024 collection for women and men. Autumn winter 2026, in stores from July and September 2026, is his fifth season.

What is Seán McGirr known for at McQueen?

Returning the founder’s codes, the peak shoulder, corsetry and the bumster, to the centre of the line, the off-the-shoulder harness jacket, and for autumn winter 2026 the waterfall collar.

Who was the creative director before Seán McGirr?

Sarah Burton, from 27 May 2010 to 2023. She had joined the house as an intern in 1996 and designed the 2011 royal wedding dress.

Is Alexander McQueen changing under Seán McGirr?

The silhouettes are sharper and more wearable and the tailoring is central again, but the fit, the Italian manufacture and the house codes are unchanged. The business is being refocused under a new chief executive appointed in June 2026.

Read next

See the era on the rail in the AW26 edit and the tailoring guide, and read why the house costs what it does.