McQueens’ Spring 2026 Collection: Pagan Femininity and Raw Power

Sean McGirr’s Spring 2026 collection for Alexander McQueen felt primal, magnetic, and deeply cinematic. The show unfolded in Paris, in a setting that blended pagan ritual with underground rave… a raw, atmospheric space filled with echoing sounds and restless energy. From the very first moment, it was clear McGirr was exploring something elemental: a study of nature, faith, and feminine power. Inspired by The Wicker Man (1973), the collection channeled the film’s eerie mysticism and its dance between devotion and desire. 

For his first womenswear-only showcase, McGirr delivered a vision that was both haunting and sensual, rooted in strength and freedom. "I want there to be an immediacy to it all.” He said, “I like things which are imperfectly perfect. It gives a bit of life to them, a bit of energy." The collection unfolded like a film in motion, each look revealing another chapter of McGirr’s darkly romantic narrative.

The colour palette grounded the storytelling, earthy tones of army green, maroon, and gold evoked a woodland ritual, while flashes of white, navy, and deep purple hinted at purity and passion. Each hue felt deliberate, like brushstrokes on a dark canvas, capturing the energy of both dusk and dawn, moments where transformation feels possible.

Textures played a crucial role. Crisp cotton, crushed leather, and washed silks rubbed shoulders with metallic threading and tactile 3D floral knits, each chosen to echo nature’s duality, its softness and its menace. The interplay of fabrics gave the garments a sense of movement and depth, as if they were alive, breathing with the pulse of the show’s feral soundtrack.

McGirr balanced rigidity and release throughout the collection. Corseted waists and sharply tailored jackets were counteracted with voluminous dresses that billowed like captured wind. He revisited Lee McQueen’s iconic bumster trouser, re-engineering it in sleek navy wool with daringly low waistlines and serpentine zippers, grounding the ethereal energy in something instinctive and urban. The tailoring was exquisite but intentionally imperfect, lapels crumpled, seams frayed, taking over the collection with a rawness that felt deeply human.

Among the standout pieces was a breathtaking sculptural white gown that opened like a blossoming flower, its vast cocoon-like volume hovering just above the ground. The exaggerated cape-like silhouette and structured neckline brought to mind both priestly ritual and futuristic goddess, embodying McGirr’s fascination with power and purity.

Another key look featured a laced leather corset top paired with cargo-style skirts, straps trailing behind as the model walked, a visual manifestation of restraint meeting release. The look captured the collection’s core tension: the interplay between control and chaos, between uniformity and wildness.

Then came a richly embroidered military jacket, adorned with antique-style frogging and delicate floral motifs, worn with a frayed skirt and knee-high brown boots. It spoke to McGirr’s ongoing dialogue between history and rebellion, the old world and the ungoverned spirit of now. The ensemble felt like the uniform of a soldier from another realm, a fighter for freedom and femininity.

Accessories were minimal but impactful. White leather boots elongated the silhouette and added a purity of line, while the occasional laced sandal or raw-edge glove offered subtle hints of sensuality. The models’ eyes were dark and smudged, hair left undone or in a wet slick back, each woman appeared as if she’d emerged from the woods at dawn, powerful yet untouched.

McGirr’s Spring 2026 collection cemented his growing confidence as creative director, blending reverence for the McQueen legacy with his own instinct for storytelling and texture. It was a study in contrasts, sacred and profane, soft and structured, sensual and spiritual. If The Wicker Man provided the mythology, McGirr’s interpretation made it fashion gospel: a world where womanhood is raw, commanding, and unapologetically alive. This was McQueen reborn, not through shock or spectacle, but through energy, imperfection, and a kind of beautiful, untamed truth.