Though we’re not sure how it was even possible, but Seán McGirr’s second McQueen show seemed to have even more buzz around it than the first. It’s probably due to the fact that a second show is a designer’s chance to consolidate their vision, reestablish codes they laid out in the first show, and let the world know what they’ll be carrying over as new signatures of the brand. For SS25, McGirr managed to pull that off with some confidence – so scroll down to find out everything that went down at the Irish designer’s second show.
With Rabanne, Balmain, Mugler, Rick Owens, Vivienne Westwood and now McQueen under her belt, it’s safe to say that Cardi B is having a very fruitful fashion week. The US megastar arrived at tonight’s show looking every inch the mob wife, nestled inside a camel coat with a bulky, faux-fur shrug on top, a custom version of look number six from McQueen’s Resort 2025 collection. The outfit was completed with brown aviators and a choppy, 80s bob, which was – dare we say – one of Cardi’s best wig moments ever?
Joining Miss B on the front row was Francois-Henri Pinault, owner of McQueen’s parent company Kering, his wife Salma Hayek, model and activist Kai-Isaiah Jamal, actors Finn Bennett and Cleopatra Coleman, plus singer Lauren Auder.
At last season’s debut, McGirr occupied Paris’ old Olympiades market in the city’s Chinatown district, but this time things got a bit of a posh upgrade. For SS25, guests instead arrived at the extravagantly named École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, the most prestigious art school in Paris. Once showgoers trudged the gravel of the grand courtyard and entered the 207-year-old building, it was soon revealed that the runway would be taking place in the Palais des Études, an impressive room with an enormous glass ceiling and antique statues displayed in arches along its balcony. Featuring a lofty installation from designer Tom Scutt, the catwalk itself was set half a foot into the room’s tiled floor, and was then lit up and doused in dry ice when the show finally began.
Before that happened though, guests were given a hint of what might come in show notes laid on each seat. First was a new piece of writing from Irish novelist Eimear McBride, in which she described a “creature” from the “scream place”, followed by a quote from the designer himself. “The banshee is rooted in the history of McQueen,” wrote McGirr on his inspiration for this season’s show, “but it’s also a story that I grew up with, so feels deeply personal to me – something I remember my mother talking about in Ireland, describing the cry of this solitary, foreboding figure.”
McGirr’s inspiration is, of course, a direct reference to Alexander McQueen’s AW94 collection Banshee, which saw models ascend the runway in plaster cast bustiers, and a pregnant skinhead with “MCQUEEN” stencilled onto her head. Debuted in west London’s now defunct Café de Paris nightclub, McQueen’s second runway show was inspired by the banshees of Irish folklore, supernatural beings who wail and scream to warn of impending death. “For me, [the banshee] has come to represent something real and potent now,” said McGirr in today’s notes. “The idea of someone who is feeling and forthright; someone who can be seen as a guiding force.”
Sharp tailoring – a McQueen signature – started the show, a series of nipped-in jackets whose lapels had seemingly been bunched together and stitched closed. These were followed by two all-white looks, first a bouncing, diaphanous gown one might associate with the classic vision of a banshee ghost, then a similar look, but in a minidress version. From there more tailoring swept in, with wingtip collar shirts under tuxedo jackets, and ostentatious, sloping collars sprouting from the necks of models.
So far, everything was what you might expect from a collection about a folkloric ghost story – muted colours, gossamer fabrics, and clothes with a slight historical bent. Though, if you remember correctly, McGirr did suggest that his new vision of the banshee could be a “guiding force”, a feeling that was telegraphed in the next portion of the show, as the colour palette exploded to pinks and greens and yellows, and cuts became more modern, and free. Torsos were bared, hemlines crept up, and a big, battered leather jacket spoke to McGirr’s preoccupation with the “rough glamour” of London’s East End.
Just like last season, the accessories department was a highlight. Leather bags with dangling, silver hardware came tucked under models’ arms, while tinted, cat-eyed sunglasses framed their faces – but it was the stilt-like platform boots that stole the show. Though, frustratingly, we couldn’t see them at first below the piles of dry ice, that eventually cleared and we got a glimpse of McGirr’s attempt at this season’s It-shoe, after the viral success of AW24’s hoof boots.
A strong motif that appeared throughout the collection was the use of metal embellishments, first as a silver flower on the back of a jacket, then dangling from accessories, and even falling from the face of a handheld mirror that one model carried down the runway. A couple of gold jackets that seemed to be made entirely from screws and knuts appeared towards the end of the show, before a striking last look took their place on the runway. A dress made entirely from thin ropes of glittering metal was the final apparition on the catwalk, with ghost-like wisps of silver chain obscuring its model’s face.
