Sharp Meets Soft at McQueen

For his sophomore outing as the creative director of McQueen, Irish designer Séan McGirr turned L’École des Beaux-Arts into a misty moor. With Cardi B and Daphne Guinness in the building, the opening look—a black tailcoat with a high feathered collar—hinted at this collection’s melding of two house signatures: precision tailoring and ethereal flou. Or, as the brand put it pre-show, “sharpness suffused with light.”

Speaking of the former, standouts like an intricately gathered and twisted jacket evoked the Savile Row background of the house founder. Vests and suit pants were enlivened with ruffled, cutout edges or ornate embellishments, while a cargo jacket and skirt combo was cleverly reworked.

As for the other side of the coin, McGirr turned out floaty, swanlike looks, witchy transparent gowns embroidered with branches, and feathered touches. On the accessories front, there were ultra-high heels (though not quite reaching Armadillo proportions) and more earthbound Oxfords, along with bags sprinkled with fringe or roses.

In a season that has already included multiple nods to the Jazz Age, McGirr showed sequined fringe dresses and even a slightly macabre embellished mask. The haunting final look featured a model in face-obscuring sequined fringe, a ghostly finale to a beautifully eerie collection.

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