McQueen Spring 2027: Past Present

by · WWD
Backstage at McQueen Spring 2027 Ready-to-Wear Collection at London Fashion WeekFrancisco Gomez de Villaboa/WWD

It was the season where everything came together for Seán McGirr. He finally got the chance to collaborate with master jeweler Shaun Leane, whose dramatic, sharp-edged metalwork was a fixture on Lee Alexander McQueen’s runway, and was able to bring the brand home to London.

“The brand is rooted here, and this is where I feel at home,” said McGirr, adding it was a bonus to be able to sleep in his own bed during such an intense time.

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The move back to London from Paris, and to a smaller store on Bond Street in the next months, are part of a restructuring under new chief executive officer Gianfranco D’Attis. His aim is to put a bigger focus on craft, and offer a full wardrobe of ready to wear, tailoring, eveningwear and the statement footwear for which McQueen is known.

With craft top of mind, McGirr brought back Leane, who earlier this month unveiled his bespoke brand, 12. McGirr also worked with the Savile Row tailor Huntsman, which years ago made suits for the brand, on three bespoke men’s silhouettes in heritage British wool.

The show itself was a mix of hard and soft. McGirr said he wanted to fuse the serenity and angel wings of the painting with the colorful, breezy aesthetic of young London ravers, while working in Leane’s metallic designs.

He sent out curve-hugging diaphanous dresses and tailored jackets with faded, abstract tie-dye patterns, and gowns adorned with silver leaves that tinkled as models walked past. The romantic McGirr said he loved the idea of people walking home from a rave, with the wind blowing leaves onto their gowns.

Other silky dresses were anchored by harnesses made from leather, or in Karen Elson’s case, recycled silver and designed by Leane for the show.

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McGirr transformed the sleeves of some jackets into “angel wings,” adding cocooning folds around the arms, but they didn’t really take flight. By contrast, a black smoking jacket with off-center buttons looked snappy and modern, as did a hand-pleated georgette gown, light as a brushstroke and blue as the angel’s wings in the painting.