Like the late Lee Alexander McQueen, Seán McGirr is a film buff. Scratch under the surface of any of his shows, and you’re likely to find a movie reference.
The obvious influence for his fall collection was Alfred Hitchcock, a director who’s always loomed large in the McQueen iconography. But McGirr also name-checked “Safe,” Todd Haynes’ cult movie starring Julianne Moore as a housewife suffering from an inexplicable illness that makes her terrified of her surroundings.
“Perfection and paranoia” is how the designer summed it up in a preview.
The show unfurled on a flesh pink curtained set designed by Tom Scutt, with an unsettling score by A.G. Cook. The collection was built on three pillars: polished tailoring, Carnaby Street cool and boudoir accents.
Single-hook jackets, in icy gray Mikado silk or crushed jacquard, nodded to McQueen’s 1996 La Poupée collection. Others came with undulating collars, which also found their way onto a pair of flared peacoats worn as ultra-short dresses.
McGirr is not afraid of referencing the house’s past. “I go to the archive all the time,” he said. “I’ll always see something that I didn’t know existed.”
McQueen’s signature feathered jackets — like the one Lady Gaga performed in at the Grammys — inspired a shrug top in trompe-l’oeil plumage, achieved through embroidery. His fondness for chainmail translated into a silver cable-knit sweater pieced together from thousands of metallic rings.
But McGirr likes to ground his looks in the street, so he added funky Mod-style knee boots and miniskirts, some molded in the shape of a bottom — fit model Marcele Dal Cortivo’s, to be precise. “You can see the indentation of the belly button,” he smirked.
The Brazilian model also walked in the show, though her face was concealed by a plastic mask — one of several off-kilter details that tipped the show into uncanny valley territory. Side-parted hair, sculpted into perfect waves, underscored the “hyper real beauty” of models dressed in glossy quilted satin or softly padded layers of organza and lace.
Beneath the glazed surface, McQueen is a house in turmoil. Since taking the helm of parent company Kering last September, Luca de Meo has ordered job cuts in the U.K. and Italy, as part of a wider turnaround plan for the ailing French luxury group.
That strategy has rippled through to the runways this season, with Kering-owned brands like Gucci and Balenciaga leaning toward more commercial fare. It’s to McGirr’s credit that he delivered the highly sellable tailoring and evening wear that de Meo wants to push at McQueen, while retaining a measure of soul.
“I’m really just excited about the journey that we’re going to go on. Tailoring, eveningwear — it’s all these special categories, because McQueen is like a jewel in the crown,” the designer said. “It’s a special brand that has a special meaning for a lot of people, even for me growing up. McQueen, Westwood and Comme des Garçons — when I was 12, 13, those were the brands that I was obsessed with.”
With that back story in mind, his rise to the helm of the brand has elements of a movie plot. Here’s wishing McGirr a happy ever after.