The eerie elegance of McQueen's SS25 collection

In a show that celebrates the heritage of the maison but also the cultural roots of the new creative director Sean McGirr, the SS25 collection of McQueen paid homage to Irish and Scottish folklore. “The banshee is an integral part of the brand’s history,” writes the designer. “But it’s also a story I grew up with, so for me, it’s extremely personal.” At the École des Beaux-Arts, on a metal runway decorated with cracked tiles—a detail that evokes the eerie sets so loved by McQueen—the brand’s new collection looks to the archives, particularly the FW94 inspired by the mythical figure of the banshee, a female spirit that for McGirr represents “something powerful and real, someone who can be seen as a guiding force”. From the McQueen show that served as inspiration, silhouettes and materials could be recognized, including long lace dresses and embroidered English tailoring. With the addition of towering platform shoes, hats and wool skull masks, blood-red details, and taffeta corsets, McGirr demonstrated that he has finally fully immersed himself in the brand's universe and emerged more aware. After a first show, FW24, which initially disappointed expectations but later left a mark thanks to impactful accessories like the hoof shoes, the Irish designer continues to keep the industry's attention, this time grabbing it by the throat with grand classics.

With the first looks gloriously embodying the maison’s typical tailoring expertise, a style code owed to Lee McQueen’s past in the Savile Row ateliers, the first references to the banshee appear in the feathered tops peeking from the blazers and the ruffles adorning collars and cut-outs. Soon after, the first direct portrayal of the figure appears, a white ruffled dress cinched at the waist with a leather belt. When the model turns her back to the audience, the back of the wool hat she wears reveals the face of a skull, another nod to the macabre icons beloved by the founder of the maison. Following this, voluminous dresses and hyper-English suits decorated with silver embroidery and bulky collars alternate. Asymmetry and rigidity once again draw from the brand’s archive, while new McGirr-signed styles emerge in footwear, with oxford shoes and thick leather boots featuring a tongue held by a large silver buckle. Halfway through the show, bright colors briefly step away from the banshee’s world, with pink, yellow, and orange ruffles swirling alongside sparkling rhinestones. Extremely ordinary pieces debut, adding greater commercial appeal to the collection, such as beige trench coats, leather jackets and mini skirts, and Glen plaid coats, before returning to the banshee with distressed metallic fringes, a new white wool mask, and a multitude of dresses—some well-structured, others softer—adorned with soft white feathers.

The final looks of the collection speak of a gala banshee, a mystical figure wearing voluminous white dresses but also jackets entirely covered in buttons, beads, and gold bolts—perhaps a reference to another famous Lee McQueen collection, the FW99 Givenchy. The designs become more dramatic towards the end, with thorn-shaped appliqués (another reference to a past collection, the FW06 that also inspired the look McGirr created for Lana Del Rey at the latest Met Gala) that twist around a model’s torso and a gray silk cloud vaporizing around another model’s legs. The banshee returns to the École des Beaux-Arts in a new form, a bundle of sparkling rhinestones twisting from head to toe. Having had more time to create the collection, McGirr explained backstage, it was easier this time to study the brand's archives and delve deeper into its history to revisit it in a modern way. While the fashion industry was outraged by the irony with which the young designer took his first steps as the brand’s creative director in FW24, this time McGirr has shown his more mature and respectful side. With the certainty that coats and blazers will sell, the designer can now breathe a sigh of relief; let's just hope he doesn’t get overwhelmed by the desire to please at all costs and retains some of the charming wickedness that left everyone speechless last February.