PFW SS25: McQueen

There’s always a certain tension in the air when a designer steps into the shadow of a house as legendary as Alexander McQueen. After Seán McGirr’s debut at McQueen earlier this year—a collection that left many scratching their heads—his Spring/Summer 2025 show felt like a pivotal moment, the one where we’d either see a designer fully step into his role or falter under the weight of it all. And while the jury’s still out for some, this collection was a clear message: McGirr is here to carve out his own vision, and it’s one rooted deeply in the mythic darkness that made McQueen what it is.

For SS25, McGirr didn’t shy away from the house’s past. Instead, he dove straight into it, revisiting Lee McQueen’s early collections and drawing inspiration from the folklore that inspired the late designer. Specifically, he latched onto the story of the banshee, the spectral figure whose wail signals doom. It’s a tale that resonates both with McQueen’s gothic DNA and McGirr’s Irish roots, making it personal. “The banshee is part of the McQueen history, but it’s also part of mine,” McGirr said in his show notes. It was an intriguing, if slightly on-the-nose, metaphor for a designer working under the ghostly presence of McQueen’s legacy.

The collection opened with precision—sharp, structured tailoring that immediately brought back memories of McQueen’s Savile Row beginnings. Twisted suits dominated the first looks, with translucent white shirts peeking through, offering a glimpse of fragility beneath the harsh exterior. There was a clear progression here—a nod to wearability after his previous show’s more abstract offerings. The suits morphed as the collection moved forward: jackets were swapped for tight waistcoats, and the tailoring crescendoed into belted mini-dresses, cinched at the waist but still carrying that edge of danger. It was McGirr’s way of showing he could honour the brand’s tailoring tradition while making it work for a modern audience.

If the tailoring was McGirr playing it safe, the banshee-inspired eveningwear was where he let loose. Trailing organza, scalloped lace, and a mix of heritage and cobweb lace made for ghostly, shipwrecked silhouettes that felt plucked from a darker, more twisted fairytale. There was an intensity to the way these dresses moved, the layers of fabric barely clinging together, as if the wearer had just walked out of a storm. These pieces were the heart of McGirr’s exploration of femininity—warped, fragile, but ultimately powerful. Thick crystal embroidery, reminiscent of Sarah Burton’s tenure, added a familiar touch, but the sense of chaos in the construction felt uniquely McGirr.

But where McGirr really started to hit his stride was in the final looks, particularly with a sheer black gown covered in thorn embroidery—a clear extension of the Met Gala dress he designed for Lana Del Rey earlier this year. It was pure McQueen in its drama, yet refined in a way that showed McGirr’s growing confidence. The closing look, a tangle of silver 3D embroidery, felt like the final nail in the coffin of doubt. It was a bold, dramatic exit—a reminder that McGirr has the potential to bring the kind of darkness the McQueen audience craves, even if it’s less visceral and more refined than Lee’s infamous runway spectacles.

There was no gore, no grand shock tactics—this wasn’t about rehashing McQueen’s most infamous moments. McGirr isn’t interested in golden showers or the grotesque. Instead, his version of McQueen feels more cerebral, more about internal turmoil than outward chaos. It’s clear that McGirr is asking us to trust the process. The ghost of McQueen will always haunt the house, but with this collection, McGirr is starting to show us that his take on McQueen—one that mixes precision tailoring with haunted femininity—could be a vision worth getting behind.

Whether or not the McQueen audience is ready to fully embrace this new direction is another question. But McGirr is laying the groundwork for something that, while not yet fully formed, feels promising. It’s McQueen, yes, but it’s also unmistakably McGirr’s McQueen. And that’s a start worth paying attention to.