Alexander McQueen teases Seán McGirr’s debut collection

British fashion house Alexander McQueen has teased its autumn/winter 2024 collection from its new creative director Seán McGirr, ahead of the designer’s debut show during Paris Fashion Week in March.

The Kering-owned Alexander McQueen, which appointed McGirr creative director in October 2023, replacing Sarah Burton, who had been with the brand for 26 years, has released new campaign images shot by Tommy Malekof, with art direction by Edward Quarmby.

In the imagery, McGirr, former head of ready-to-wear at JW Anderson, shares a gothic feel for his debut Alexander McQueen collection with friends of the house Debra Shaw and Frankie Rayder seen wearing chrome skull masks, a long-time archetypal motif of the house, against a pine forest backdrop.

In a statement, Alexander McQueen said the imagery “captures the essence” of the fashion house, while embracing the brand’s past “to inform the present and future,” as the pine forest location is “imbued with an ethereal Celtic ambience,” in a nod to both Lee McQueen’s and McGirr’s cultural heritage.

First look at Seán McGirr’s vision for Alexander McQueen

As well as being gothic and moody, there is also a youthful feel to the campaign, with models seen wearing looks including a tailored suit, an intricate silver dress that looks like shattered glass, a sleeveless tartan dress, and a black strapless minidress paired with oversized chunky boots.

The images also feature the house’s new logo, a refreshed version of the original McQueen logo, conceived by founder Lee McQueen more than 30 years ago, with the letter ‘C’ nestled inside the ‘Q’.

McGirr, an Irish national born in Dublin, is a graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, where he earned his Master of Arts in Fashion in 2014 under the late professor Louise Wilson. Before joining Alexander McQueen, McGirr held roles at JW Anderson, Dries Van Noten, Uniqlo, Burberry and Vogue Hommes Japan.

On his appointment last year, Gianfilippo Testa, chief executive at Alexander McQueen, said McGirr’s “experience, personality, and creative energy,” would bring a “powerful creative language to Alexander McQueen while building on its unique heritage”.

He will stage his debut show for Alexander McQueen on March 2.