Seán McGirr Is Leaving McQueen

After three years as creative director, Seán McGirr is leaving McQueen. His Spring/Summer 2027 collection, in which he brought the beloved British fashion house back home to London, served as his final offering.

Born in Dublin in 1988, McGirr attended Central Saint Martins before going on to work at fashion houses such as Dries Van Noten, Uniqlo, and Burberry, ultimately serving as the head of ready-to-wear at JW Anderson. At McQueen, he was tasked with evolving the legacy of a brand with particularly strong DNA. Founded in 1993 by the young, subversive visionary Lee McQueen, the house was built on theatrical, boundary-pushing runway shows and emotion-driven design, using the medium of fashion to comment on everything from the English crown’s historical abuse of Scotland (Fall 1995) to the wastefulness of the fashion industry (Fall 2009).

After McQueen’s death in 2010, his right hand, Sarah Burton, took the reins for a 13-year tenure, during which she welcomed a new lightness into the house’s darker roots. When she headed to Givenchy, McGirr was appointed her successor—thus starting a brief but pivotal era in McQueen’s story.

Dedicated to honoring the romanticism and subversion of Lee McQueen’s work, while bringing a newfound focus on contemporary London culture, he merged traditional house codes with explorations of clubs, local art, and street trends. “My vision for Alexander McQueen was grounded in the interplay between raw, visceral, human beauty and the precision and rigor at the heart of the house,” McGirr shared with the announcement of his departure. “I am incredibly proud of the progressive energy we cultivated as a team, anchoring our creativity in contemporary culture, and seeing it resonate with the most forthright, expressive figures across art, music, cinema, and more. I leave with profound gratitude for the dedication of the studio and atelier, and craftspeople. I look forward to my next chapter and wish the house every success.”

His debut show, staged at a warehouse on the outskirts of Paris, quite literally brought the industry to the club. Through shearling collars, chunky knits, and pops of neon, he targeted a younger demographic. The divisive offering lost some McQueen purists but gained a whole new generation of fans (think Chappell Roan).

Throughout his tenure, McGirr continued to struggle with mixed reviews. His final offering, shown in the city’s moody gothic Lincoln’s Inn Chapel during London Fashion Week, marked an exciting homecoming for the house and a return to McQueen’s twisted roots. It told a story of “angels in the dark,” with “angel wing” tailoring, metal body armor, and even horns. Ultimately, however, it fell flat to critics, who felt that it struggled to capture the heart and passion behind the late founder’s theatrical presentations.