When Perfectionism Becomes Undone
Review of McQueen Fall 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
Seán McGirr’s McQueen felt as if the designer was tackling this collection from a new perspective, as if looking at the brand through a gauzy lens, but his focus couldn’t have been clearer.
This collection felt like a connectedness to something much more emotional, which may have had something to do with the set design for fall, whose warm peachy tone and sheer curtains gave the unintentional effect of being in a womb. The designer shared backstage that it was the result of a collaboration with the Broadway theatre designer Tom Scott, and the intended idea was for the “veils and sheer curtains [to convey] voyeurism [and a] weird sort of eroticism.
This was to form part of the designers visual methodology for a new kind of glamour, based on intimacy rather than an obsession with valuing the exterior.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Artifice Undone, Performance Unmasked, Beauty Veiled
Each collection previous to todays has felt like McGirr (understandably) has been trying to recapture or resurrect that original Alexander McQueen magic, by resisting house codes or the drama of the founders set design. This yielded varying results, not for lack of will or talent, but because (the bumster, the robotic arms spray-painting Shalom Harlow, the junkyard pile of Horn of Plenty, the first fashion show live stream in 2009) that was all of its time. There are few ways to cause shock and awe in today’s hyper-aware, always-on climate, so why not go in the opposite direction and choose a quieter, more intimate path?
Well, this was exactly what the designer leaned into today. A sense of closeness that was achieved with the set which separated each group of guests into three sections. Two outer rings and a inner circle surrounding an elevated platform where the models were displayed. Each section was partitioned by the aforementioned veils to make the hundred-or-so guests in attendance feel less part of a spectacle and more a shared experience.
In today’s notes the designer stated plainly “We’re always on; always…performing and being watched.” This statement could accurately describe his experience since being appointed Creative director in 2023. So it was that this collection felt less about appealing to the masses and doing away with, or ‘undoing artifice’ as he put it.
In his most personal statement to date McGirr took his lead from the perceived perfectionism of domesticity and the sinister goings on that often lay just beneath the surface, when the ‘polished veneer cracks.’ A melding of ‘paranoia and perfectionism and performance’ as he described it meant the inside was brought out with quilted bed jackets remixed into evening looks and cropped bombers, while floral prints that typically adorned wallpaper were rendered into shrunken tailored suits and bloomer short sets. His lace trapped between layers of organza was to mimic the idea of claustrophobia, and the idea of ‘toxic perfectionism’ came from the Todd Haynes film ‘Safe.’ Starring Julianne Moore as a housewife in Southern California who slowly unravels, the film deals with themes of illness, isolation, and how toxic performance of perfectionism can literally make you sick.
In developing his fall collection, the designer said backstage “I felt like it was really important for me that the girls looked like they dressed themselves. The styling felt personal and not like a new uniform.” This meant shrunken skirt suits that embraced the brands Savile Row heritage worn with knee-high boots, cropped fair isle cardigans and unzipped leather pants, babydoll dresses with ‘pearlescent trench coats’ thrown over, and chainmail armour reimagined as knitwear.
For all its formality – this was still a McQueen show after all – this collection felt surprisingly relaxed. Whether that was down to the Hitchcockian icy pastels or the designer feeling less of a need to shoe-horn ideas or ‘isms’ from the past into the present. From moulded ‘bum’ skirts to a more textured take on tailoring, which he said were “new takes, like tuxedos in very sharp high shine fabrics, and iridescents.” There was an instinctiveness to this new McQueen that is starting to feel very much like McGirr too.
THE QUOTE
We’re always on, constantly performing, and there was something there that I really wanted to look at. I think there’s this psychological kind of disruption that I wanted to think about for the season. So performance was really key, but it’s more like there’s a filter, and maybe you’re wearing your mask or you’re not.
Seán McGirr. Creative Director, Alexander McQueen
THE WRAP UP
With major business restructuring taking place behind-the-scenes that has yet to fully formalise the future of the brand, this collection felt like Seán McGirr saying screw it, this is me, this is how I see the McQueen woman evolving into something more personal. That would appear to match the designers temperament.
What emerged was a version of McQueen that felt more invested in psychological depth, something that brings it closer to the spirit of Alexander McQueen himself. By leaning into intimacy McGirr is beginning to carve out a language that is distinct from the founder’s legacy while still honouring its emotional core. And if previous seasons felt like he was cautiously navigating the weight of that legacy, this collection felt like a welcome turning point.
