After a heavily criticised first season at McQueen, Creative Director Seán McGirr showed that he can do the job with his SS25 collection. His previous presentation felt like he was still trying to find his feet, trying to find his character within the McQueen house (which was led by Alexander’s right hand Sarah Burton for more than a decade), and we were glad to see him find himself with this collection.
This season was an ode to the banshee, a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds death by wailing. The banshee figure is rooted in the history of the McQueen house – Alexander McQueen’s second ever collection, FW94 “Banshee”, was inspired by the spirit – but also in McGirr’s Irish heritage. “It’s a story that I grew up with, so feels deeply personal to me,” said McGirr in the show notes. “Something I remember my mother talking about in Ireland, describing the cry of this solitary, foreboding figure.” McGirr referred to the banshee as a “guiding force”, and a guiding force she was.
The collection was romantic, refined and cohesive, but also had soul and personality. The tailoring was twisted in the waist with sharp, defined shoulders. But what stood out the most was the eveningwear, which was more assertive than the tailoring. Dresses floated on the foggy runway: organza, georgette and silk fabrics in whites and earthy tones were pleated, ruffled, frayed and undone in an ethereal, ghostly way – some with original banshee artwork embroidered on them. A sheer black long dress embroidered with thorns was a reference to the custom look for Lana Del Rey for this year’s Met. The last look was the highlight: the spirit herself, a dress of gleaming silver chains that flowed with the contours of the body, paired with a chained headpiece.
If you look at Alexander McQueen’s FW94 collection you can see some similarities: sheer dresses, black lace, rounded Regency shoulders, low-waisted tailored trousers. It was exciting to see McGirr delving into the brand’s rich archives and finding something that he related to and wanted to build on.
The shoes were chunky, fun and interesting: 2010s silhouettes and heavy Derby-esque platforms took over from the viral hoof boots of last season. And you could also see the 2010s silhouettes in the accessories: the banshee-style chains, suede messengers and studded details took us back to the Tumblr era.
This collection allowed McGirr to find his twisted, romantic self McQueen-style, celebrate his own heritage along with Alexander’s, and give us what we’ve been waiting for – a beautiful, dark folktale.
More on Culted
