| McQueen confirmed that Seán McGirr is leaving the British fashion house after three years as Creative director. McGirr joined the company in 2023 after leading menswear at JW Anderson. His final collection was shown in London in September 2026. A successor has not yet been announced. The departure closes a closely watched period at McQueen, where McGirr sought to connect the house’s established codes with a younger cultural viewpoint. |
Seán McGirr is leaving McQueen after three years as Creative director, ending a tenure that began in 2023 and followed Sarah Burton’s long stewardship of the house. The Irish designer arrived at a difficult point in the brand’s history, with expectations shaped by both Lee Alexander McQueen’s legacy and Burton’s 13 years as Creative director.
Before joining McQueen, McGirr had worked across several major fashion companies. He studied at Central Saint Martins and later held positions at Burberry and Dries Van Noten. He also worked with Uniqlo as part of Christophe Lemaire’s design team before becoming head of menswear at JW Anderson.
That background helped explain the direction he took at McQueen. Rather than attempting a complete reset, McGirr revisited familiar elements from the house’s past and adjusted them for a younger customer. Tailoring remained important, while his collections also examined youth culture and the confrontational attitude associated with the label’s early years.
One clear example was his return to the skull scarf, a product closely associated with McQueen’s image during the 2000s. The scarf had remained in production, but it had not appeared on the runway since the spring summer 2003 collection. Bringing it back placed a recognizable house symbol in a contemporary context without treating the archive as untouchable.
McGirr’s final season also carried symbolic importance. In September 2026, he brought McQueen back to London Fashion Week for the Spring 2027 collection. It was the house’s first official London presentation since 2001, following years of showing in Paris.
For McGirr, the return had a personal connection. He had moved to London as a student and often discussed the city’s subcultures and visual contrasts. The collection also drew on his interest in the National Gallery, particularly Piero della Francesca’s The Baptism of Christ. These references placed contemporary London alongside a more restrained classical framework.
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These references placed contemporary London alongside a more restrained classical framework.
His departure now brings renewed attention to succession at McQueen. Kering chief executive Luca de Meo acknowledged McGirr’s contribution and dedication, while the designer thanked the studio, atelier and craftspeople who worked with him. McGirr also said he was looking forward to his next chapter.
No replacement has been named. That leaves McQueen at another transition point only a few years after Burton’s departure. Her own history at the company lasted 26 years, first working closely with Lee McQueen and later taking charge after his death in 2010.
For anyone following the business of fashion, the next appointment will matter beyond individual collections. McQueen has a highly specific identity, and every creative director must decide how much of that identity should be preserved, revised or challenged.
McGirr’s period at the house was relatively brief, but his approach was clear. He treated the archive as usable material, kept tailoring central to the clothes and sought a younger audience without fully separating McQueen from its history. His exit now shifts attention to who will take the house forward.