Seán McGirr leaves McQueen after three years as creative director, Kering confirmed on Thursday, 15 October 2026. The announcement lands less than a month after the Irish designer brought the house back to London Fashion Week with a dark, angel-winged spring 2027 show, and it makes McQueen the latest major label to open its top creative job this autumn. The house says it will "soon" announce new creative leadership, and that the next designer will debut in London. Here is what happened, why it happened now, and what McGirr leaves behind.

Why is Seán McGirr leaving McQueen?

Neither Kering nor McGirr gave a single reason, but the context is hard to miss. WWD describes the three-year collaboration as "uneven" and notes that the exit comes amid a substantial retrenchment of the business, including layoffs and a smaller store network. Vogue reports that the house went through a restructuring earlier this year involving job cuts and executive changes, and that Gianfranco D'Attis, the former Prada chief executive, became McQueen's president and CEO on 3 June.

Kering's chief executive Luca de Meo framed the change as a reset. "Our ambition is to establish a bold new direction for the house, building on its unique heritage of exceptional tailoring, uncompromising creativity and rebellion," he said in the statement. In April, at Kering's Capital Markets Day in Florence, de Meo had already said McQueen should end 2026 with 50 per cent fewer stores than at the end of 2025, and told reporters he wanted to go "back to the source of McQueen, which is occasion wear, tailoring, gowns, some funky accessories."

According to WWD, de Meo has also been blunt about the cost of the brand's past expansion: McQueen opened 135 stores worldwide and at one point relied on sneakers for around 80 per cent of revenue. Vogue cites Bernstein estimates that the house generated less than €200 million in 2025, down from a peak of €850 million in 2022 and 2023.

What Seán McGirr and McQueen said

The tone of the statements was warm. D'Attis thanked McGirr personally and said his "talent and passion have helped us reconnect Alexander McQueen with London, its culture, and its extraordinary creative energy."

McGirr said his vision "was grounded in the interplay between raw, visceral, human beauty and the precision and rigor at the heart of the house," adding that he was proud of the "progressive energy" the team built. "I leave with profound gratitude for the dedication of the studio and atelier, and craftspeople. I look forward to my next chapter and wish the house every success."

Seán McGirr's McQueen tenure, season by season

McGirr was appointed in October 2023, succeeding Sarah Burton, who spent 26 years at the house and 13 as creative director before moving to Givenchy. Born in Dublin in 1987 and a Central Saint Martins graduate, he came from JW Anderson, where he led ready-to-wear, after earlier roles in womenswear at Dries Van Noten and at Burberry and Uniqlo.

The debut

His first show, staged in a warehouse on the outskirts of Paris, deliberately echoed the raw venues of Lee Alexander McQueen's early London shows. Exaggerated neck knits, shearling jackets and jet-beaded pantsuits signalled a younger, less tailored direction, and Vogue notes the collection was met with scepticism because it strayed so far from Burton's polished romance.

Finding a footing

His second show, at the École des Beaux-Arts, was described by Vogue Runway's Nicole Phelps as "more cohesive and more commercially viable." Over the following seasons McGirr leaned into London club culture, street style and local art, which Harper's Bazaar calls a merging of house codes with contemporary London life.

The London homecoming

The final chapter came on 20 September, when McGirr showed spring 2027 in the undercroft of Lincoln's Inn Chapel, McQueen's first official London Fashion Week show in years. Vogue describes closed-over shoulders built to resemble furled angel wings, classic gowns with anarchic additions and twin-peaked hair. WWD notes that he fulfilled a personal dream by inviting jeweller Shaun Leane, a long-time collaborator of Lee McQueen, to create runway pieces for the first time in 16 years. Harper's Bazaar reports that reviews were still mixed.

What happens to McQueen now?

Three things are confirmed. First, a successor will be named soon. Second, the incoming designer will show in London: D'Attis told Vogue Business in September, "We are very much committed to showing in London from here on." Third, the business plan stays focused on fewer stores and a tighter, more niche offer built around tailoring and eveningwear.

Kering reports third-quarter results on 22 October, and Vogue expects creative changes to come up on that call, since Saint Laurent is still without a creative director after Anthony Vaccarello's departure. WWD also points to market speculation about further changes at Balenciaga, although nothing has been announced there.

Fashion's creative director carousel this autumn

McGirr's exit did not arrive alone. On the same day, Calvin Klein confirmed that Veronica Leoni will leave its Collection line at the end of her contract after four seasons. Together with Vaccarello's departure from Saint Laurent earlier in October, that means three high-profile design jobs opened in a matter of days, right after the spring 2027 shows.

For readers, the takeaway is simple: the spring 2027 McQueen collection is now a collector's season, the last from a designer who tried to make the house feel young and local again. For the industry, the question is whether Kering hires a name that leans back into Lee McQueen's tailoring and drama, or another relative newcomer.

FAQ

Who is replacing Seán McGirr at McQueen?

No successor has been announced. Kering says McQueen will soon name its new creative leadership, and that the new designer will debut in London.

When did Seán McGirr join McQueen?

He was appointed creative director in October 2023, succeeding Sarah Burton, and his spring 2027 collection shown in London on 20 September 2026 was his last.

Is McQueen still showing in London?

Yes. McQueen's president and CEO Gianfranco D'Attis has said the house is committed to showing in London from now on.

Read more on McQueen and Kering

Revisit Seán McGirr's final collection in our review of the McQueen spring 2027 homecoming show at https://thecoverissue.com/mcqueen-london-fashion-week-ss27-sean-mcgirr-homecoming — and for the other big Kering exit of the month, read about Anthony Vaccarello leaving Saint Laurent at https://thecoverissue.com/anthony-vaccarello-leaves-saint-laurent-chemena-kamali.