Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2025: The Spirit of the Banshee

For the Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2025 show, creative director Seán McGirr took inspiration from the banshee, a mythical figure from Irish Celtic lore. This supernatural female spirit, often considered a sorceress or a messenger from the Otherworld, is famously known for her haunting wails that foretell death. 

“The banshee is rooted in McQueen history, but it’s also a story I grew up with and so it’s deeply personal to me – I remember my mother talking about it in Ireland, describing the cry of this lonely, ominous figure. To me, it represents something real and powerful today. The idea of someone who has feelings and is outspoken; someone who can be seen as a guiding force,” reveals Seán McGirr, creative director of the British house.

To evoke this eerie, mystical presence, McGirr crafted silhouettes that appeared otherworldly, emerging from a catwalk shrouded in shadows and an almost eerie fog. The collection featured sharp, twisted suits that subverted traditional British tailoring, creating a balance between structure and distortion. Delicate fabrics like translucent white silk chiffon were hand-washed and manipulated into sunburst pleats, while silk creponne and gossamer wool gabardine played with texture and lightness. Hand-sewn spiderweb lace was interwoven with finely brushed silk, giving the appearance of garments coming undone, while other pieces like twisted suits, pinched shoulders, and classic checks challenged convention. The color palette ranged from ivory, silver gray, and jet black to twilight hues of yellow and orange, adding a spectral yet vibrant quality to the collection. 

This juxtaposition of ethereal and structured elements paid homage to the banshee's eerie elegance, with each piece seemingly infused with the spirit of the mythical creature.