Alexander McQueen Fall 2024 – Is the Trailblazer, Seán McGirr, Doing It Right?
As with any debut show at any renowned fashion house, Seán McGirr’s debut at Alexander McQueen has sparked contemplation and debate throughout the fashion world.
A new era of creativity at one of the legendary fashion houses or most beloved luxury brands began with a tight black dress, stretched to form numerous folds around the body, glossy black fabric, one sleeve clipped across the chest, the other tucked into the dress. And that’s when all eyes in the fashion world turned to Alexander McQueen Fall 2024, sparking lively discussions. Setting the stage for the entire show was the old, rustic space of SEGRO Paris Les Gobelins (a former train station converted into an urban logistics center). It was the rainiest night of Paris Fashion Week. The gloomy setting created a sense of déjà vu, leading viewers’ minds back to an abandoned warehouse in Kings Cross, London, where McQueen unveiled the Spring Summer 1995 collection, “The Birds.”
The wilderness of the natural world, the animal species in “The Birds,” also served as the primary inspiration behind Seán McGirr’s debut collection, the new “king” overseeing the legacy vault that Alexander McQueen, as well as Sarah Burton, left behind. The dress made of transparent plastic enveloping the body helped the young director shape the entire collection. “The idea of that ‘tight’ dress inspired me to come up with many exciting things. So, I’m trying to convey that, crack open that message in the future, applying classic silhouettes to the modern era and seeing what I can do with real clothes,” shared McGirr. But does the fashion world agree with that idea and the new direction of this trailblazer?
Despite not having a personal Instagram account or many other official platforms, Seán McGirr’s resume was soon revealed when he was announced as the head of creative reign at Alexander McQueen. At just 35 years old, McGirr impressed with his time at Dries Van Noten and JW Anderson. As a talented young individual, aspiring to break through, taking on the role of creative director for a legendary brand like McQueen, McGirr inevitably faced pressure, expectations, and skepticism. Amidst the choice, more accurately the fashion world’s expectations: one, to revive the classic works of the founder lying “asleep” in the archives, two, to continue the story of former creative director Sarah Burton. But McGirr did not follow those desires; he made his own choices, focusing and boldly introducing new things he would accomplish in his era at Alexander McQueen.
New rules always face many struggles; of course, no debut show of a new creative director can satisfy all opinions. Alexander McQueen Fall 2024 is no exception. Many expressed disappointment after the show ended. They believed McGirr was ruining the entire legacy left by both Lee and Sarah, thinking McGirr was a completely wrong choice for Alexander McQueen. They yearned to see an extreme world of beautiful garments that Lee left behind or wanted to see the craftsmanship and sophistication that Sarah showcased in glamorous evening gowns. The loyal followers of McQueen’s aesthetic saw their hopes dissipate. Because they understood how strong McQueen’s DNA was, that “treasure” could not be lost, it must be revived and maintained. So what did McGirr do?
The McQueen runway now no longer reigns with extremism or dreaminess full of femininity; instead, it’s about freedom, youthfulness on the streets, or more accurately, the carefree spirit of street fashion. Clothes are worn casually, comfortably, as McGirr explained backstage: “It’s people, men, or women who follow the doctrine of pleasure. Somehow, the models for McQueen in the 90s seemed relaxed like ordinary people outside society. They didn’t seem to belong to the extravagant fashion world; they were outsiders. I’m really interested in that. So, I guess those are the characters I’m really curious to meet on the streets of London; the rough allure of the East End.” Thus, McGirr created a more forgiving aesthetic than the founder and closer to the previous creative director. He replaced tight corsets with loose silhouettes, swapped prestigious red carpet dresses for low-rise jeans, flared trousers, and silver hues.
Perhaps we should “listen” to McGirr a little more. The Alexander McQueen Fall 2024 collection is evidence of a vision of rugged sophistication and pure seductive beauty, intertwined with twists and binds on the silhouette. Creative director Seán McGirr delves into the animalistic soul. But unlike Lee’s “The Birds,” the animalistic nature is not hidden by the appearance of feather details or bird-print; instead, McGirr reveals it through compressed and elongated shapes, knitted sculptures, and intricate details. Each item in the collection tells a story of rebellion and transformation of the “demons within.”
Before the “demons” deep in the soul burst out, McGirr expressed the idea of restraint. They are the way models put their hands in their jacket pockets, or the detail of wrapped strings around a tight pair of jeans, the unbuttoned cuffs of a pinstripe blazer and belted waistcoat on a men’s leather jacket as if they were restraining something terrifying about to break out. The “cocoon” pattern on shoes, bags, or long coats is also a metaphor for this idea. Without feathers, McGirr replaces them with layers of soft fur exploding in a high-necked sweater, when worn with an overall coat resembling a giant bird cage, on a shirt resembling a “cage” with the collar covering half the face, strands falling along the edge of a pair of jeans, or appearing as strange “clouds” on dresses. Horse hoof shoes literally attract all attention. Meanwhile, animal print patterns like fur are also found on some knit sweaters, long dresses to reveal strips of fabric extending from the shoulders to the hem, or a jacket with a hood in punk DIY style. It’s from here that viewers get to admire McGirr’s new tailoring techniques.
The craftsmanship is demonstrated through sleek shiny leather trench coats with tight waistlines or cut short and studded. Or longer reverse-designed vests with extremely sharp shoulder peaks, or conversely, extremely soft rounded. Equally enticing are the Scottish-style knitted wool vests, with quirky designs like “aliens.” The funnel-shaped silhouette of these may have been created from materials inspired by the wheel details printed on many garments in Alexander McQueen Spring 1995. The shadow of the legendary Alexander McQueen is still “present” in sharp, precise lines. Of course, McGirr couldn’t forget the history of intricate embroidery and craftsmanship in Sarah Burton’s era. But McGirr wants to approach that history more ruthlessly. And that’s why the crystal-embellished dresses in the collection look shattered, glass shards arranged more haphazardly, as if a glass screen had just been smashed, or as McGirr calls it, the “cracked screen of a cell phone.”