Alexander McQueen once put on a show at a waste incinerator plant along the Thames. Sean McGirr made his stunning debut for the house Saturday night inside a scruffy former railway station in Paris's Chinatown.
Those weren't the only similarities. Dublin-born McGirr's debut referenced McQueen's 'Birds' collection in part, although his fashion flight was a much more optimistic vision than Lee's theatrics.
While Alexander (Lee) McQueen often referenced his Scottish ancestry with references to bloody battles, McGirr played up his Irish origins with Enya on the soundtrack singing 'Orinoco Falls'. Sean left acid green blankets on each seat due to the exposed drafts and rain that marked the atmosphere. Lee probably would have chosen black.
The weight of expectations was, of course, enormous. When Lee McQueen passed away in 2010, he was widely considered the most influential designer in the world. McGirr had been plucked from obscurity after working for JW Anderson and Uniqlo to succeed the much-loved Sarah Burton, Lee's former right-hand woman, who styled McQueen for 13 years and dressed Kate Middleton when she married Prince William. .
From the initial look, the silhouettes and fabrics seemed very McQueen, in a show full of characteristic experimental perversity. The opening look was a distorted cocktail laminate sweater, while several girls wore thick mohair sweater dresses with funnel necks that hid their heads. McGirr hit the high note with ripped chandelier dresses that were quite sensational.
Interestingly, although the fabrics seemed lighter than in many previous McQueen shows, the show ended with a trio of metallic pawn-shaped dresses, in Lamborghini yellow or Aston Martin blue. A reference to McGirr's father's profession: he is a mechanic.
In a mixed show, the tailoring echoed Burton's style, although much more stylized: Savile Row dandy meets East End gangster, with chalk-striped suits and secret agent leather coats.
Lee's love of cable knits and whale sweaters was reinterpreted by Sean with Irish aran sweaters and a bit more matching: knit bras with open cardigans. In fact, some of the most powerful looks were the men's sweaters with inverted Michelin quad collars.
One missed the intricate elegance of Burton's exotic taffeta dresses, but McGirr's vision is definitely that of a younger, bolder McQueen.
In the lead-up to his debut, McGirr had telegraphed his intentions with a selection of images on Instagram. They featured veteran Lee McQueen models Frankie Rayder and Debra Shaw, wearing silver skull masks, wandering through a lush English autumn forest.
Both walked on the remains of a railroad track that was the catwalk for the parade. Rayner in a red wrap dress and Shaw in an off-the-shoulder pantsuit.
“The narrative was about unique characters, who have a very strong personality. People I would like to meet. The rough glamor of the East End, the tattered opulence. My job is to bring a new energy to that. “I like the idea of anti-politeness, we live in a very polite world, so Lee's message is more relevant than ever,” she explained after the show.
About 40 editors and critics crowded around McGirr, a healthy sign, who, when asked how he planned to celebrate, joked: “a hug from my mother, which will be intense, and maybe a hot bath.”
After her parents posed for photos with Sean, they were greeted by Kering executive Lionel Vermeil.
“I'm responsible for launching your son into greatness,” Vermeil informed them with a huff, with McQueen CEO Gianfilippo Testa standing nearby.
When McGirr Sr. responded by asking him what he thought of the collection, Vermeil responded, “Well, no one died. But I’m French, so don’t expect me to say much.”
In that sense, one left the program.
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