Seán McGirr exits Alexander McQueen amid Kering's 'ReconKering' phase

Seán McGirr is exiting his role as creative director of Alexander McQueen, parent conglomerate Kering confirmed Thursday, and promised a new successor soon. McGirr was hired from JW Anderson as a first-time creative head and faced an uphill battle from day one. He inherited a house reeling from a widespread luxury slump, fading demand for its flagship oversized sneakers, and a loss of institutional craft following the 2023 departure of long-time designer Sarah Burton.

Seán McGirr steps down as creative director of Alexander McQueen

Luca de Meo, CEO of Kering, said, “I would like to thank Seán for his contribution and dedication to Alexander McQueen. Our ambition is to establish a bold new direction for the House, building on its unique heritage of exceptional tailoring, uncompromising creativity and rebellion to reaffirm its position as one of the most innovative and culturally relevant voices in luxury.”

McGirr's March 2024 runway debut offered a different, grittier vision, but retail buyers and critics found it a disjointed departure from the label's legendary tailoring. Despite refining his direction in subsequent seasons, brand momentum stalled, sending estimated revenues sliding under €200 million from an all-time high of €800 million.

Navigating heritage amid industry-wide shakeups

After weighing a potential sale, Kering launched a radical overhaul of the label, bringing in ex-Prada executive Gianfranco D’Attis as CEO in June. The leadership void at McQueen is part of a sweeping realignment across Kering, which is also managing transitions at Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Brioni while attempting to stabilise Gucci.

The reshuffling makes sense in context of the conglomerate's 'ReconKering' plan which was launched by Kering’s Chief Executive Officer, Luca de Meo during Capital Markets Day in Florence. The initiative was crafted as a comprehensive corporate turnaround strategy to pull Kering out of a performance slump. De Meo introduced the plan to address brand fatigue & revenue plummets, operations inefficencies and loss of exclusivity.

Yet McQueen presents a unique dilemma: channeling founder Lee McQueen’s iconoclastic, highly technical spirit requires a rare creative alchemy, one made all the more difficult by rising manufacturing costs and an uncertain global market.

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