Irishman Seán McGirr has been appointed the new Creative Director for luxury fashion house Alexander McQueen.
The Dublin-born designer will succeed Sarah Burton, who recently departed the luxury fashion house after 26 years, Kering – the house's parent company – announced today.
Burton took over as Creative Director in 2010 after the death of Lee Alexander McQueen, and presented her final collection at Paris Fashion Week over the weekend. Her departure was announced only last month.
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McGirr was previously Head of Ready-to-wear at JW Anderson, the eponymous label of Derry native Jonathan Anderson, now the Creative Director of Spanish label Loewe. He originally joined JW Anderson in 2020 to oversee men's collections and eventually took on womenswear too.
McGirr is a graduate of Central Saint Martins where he obtained a Master of Arts in Fashion in 2014 and trained under Louise Wilson, an ambitious professor who mentored and influenced the careers of designers including Christopher Kane, Roksanda Ilincic and Mary Katrantzou.
After university he went on to work as part of Uniqlo's creative offices in Tokyo and Paris, working on men's collections under Christophe Lemaire. He left Uniqlo in 2018. Early in his career he also assisted at Burberry and Vogue Hommes Japan, and later went on to become Women's Designer for Dries Van Noted in Antwerp.
There is currently no information on when McGirr will present his first collection for the fashion house.
In a statement posted on the Kering site, Gianfilippo Testa, CEO of Alexander McQueen, said: "We are delighted to welcome Seán McGirr as Creative Director. With his experience, personality, and creative energy, he will bring a powerful creative language to Alexander McQueen while building on its unique heritage."
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, added: "Alexander McQueen is a House we are passionate about, and we are confident that Seán McGirr will be able to pursue its journey with a new creative impetus. We look forward to opening this new chapter in the history of this unique brand."
