Arguably the most anticipated show of Paris Fashion Week closed out day six of the fashion festivities – the debut collection of Seán McGirr as creative director of Alexander McQueen. Following his appointment back in October 2023 and subsequent to a series of teaser campaign images just last month, McGirr described his first collection as “rough opulence” and revealing of the “animal within.” On location within a vast industrial space on the outskirt of Paris, the Irish designer who previously held the position of head of ready-to-wear at JW Anderson offered a lineup of exaggerated funnel-neck knits, larger-than-life furs, hoof-like boots and plastic dresses fit for dolls – with his model army marching to a soundtrack of Enya’s Orinoco Flow.
Read below the reactions of theFashionSpot’s forum members:
“Can’t describe what I’m seeing in any word other than ‘schizophrenic’.” [upNorth]
“Genuinely aghast at this, it’s one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen.” [gallianostan]
“What a very bland, generic collection. Nothing stands out, it’s all so painfully forgettable. Even at their worst, Sarah and Lee had exquisite tailoring to back them up. This doesn’t look exquisite. And of course, not much McQueen to be seen here. Any attempts at interpreting McQueen silhouettes fail to impress me. I really wanted to like this, but McGirr’s first attempt was a massive non-event. The show isn’t over yet and I can’t for the life of me remember a single good look I’ve seen in the past ten minutes.” [aracic]
“I was not prepared for how psychotic this made me feel. I’m gonna be sick.” [sussieinmcswanny]
“Diluted Alexander McQueen for Gen Z’s. I feel nothing. God help us all.” [FelipeV]
“I did think McGirr was going in the right direction with the first look but completely lost me afterwards. I had high-hopes but genuinely just felt like I’ve sat and watched some show from a student who has just graduated… and not from a brand as established and highly-regarded as Alexander McQueen.” [vogue28]
“Well that was incredibly disappointing. He barely even scratched the surface of McQueen, the brand and the designer. You could see some slight references in some looks here and there, but they were so diluted, contrived and lacking any sense of attitude. This brand deserves more.” [Marc10]
“That was scarily disappointing. Fresh CSM graduates do a better job than this. I actually have no words.” [proseccotabis]
“The worst collection of the season. Not coherent, not exciting, poorly executed and absolutely disgraceful in terms of quality of tailoring.” [perhydrol]
“This is going to be torn to shreds everywhere is my prediction. Grab your popcorn. I feel sorry for everyone involved.” [NakedAndAfriad]
See all the looks from the Alexander McQueen Fall 2024 collection and join the conversation, here.
