Global group Kering and fashion house Alexander McQueen announce Sean Mcgirr as their new creative director after succeeding Sarah Burton. 

Sean Mcgirr, an Irish national born in Dublin, is a graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, where he achieved a master of fashion in 2014. Since then, Mcgirr’s career has skyrocketed. From assisting at Burberry and Vogue Homme Japan to now, being a creative director for Alexander McQueen, Mcgirr has achieved a lot during his career. He was a women’s designer for Dries Van Noten and part of Uniqlo’s creative office in Paris and Tokyo under Christophe Lemoine’s guidance working on men’s collection, before joining JW Anderson in 2020 where he worked his way to become head of ready-to-wear. 

Despite Mcgirr’s well-established CV, there were a lot of mixed reviews upon the announcement. Kering received backlash on social media due to a picture being posted of Kering’s six white male creative directors, including Mcgirr, by fashion education platform @1granary highlighting the lack of diversity within the fashion industry. The post is captioned with a demand for change stating, “It’s time we engage in a difficult conversation about why these decisions keep repeating themselves in the industry, what factors perpetuate this pattern, and why actual change remains so elusive.”

However, others like Anges Locret – director of a recruitment agency Mode Search said to the magazine Drapers, “I don’t think diversity can be something that fills a quota if people are talented and they match your brand regardless of their background. I think it’s a bit harsh if anything, I don’t think any of them would be in those positions if they didn’t deserve it.”

Nonetheless, both chairman and CEO of Kering Francois-Henri Pinault and CEO of Alexander McQueen Gianfilippo Testa, welcome Sean Mcgirr with open arms as creative director, “With his experience, personality, and creative energy, he will bring a powerful creative to Alexander McQueen while building on its unique heritage.” – Stated by CEO Gianfilippo Testa. 

Alexander McQueen is known for their bold, innovative designs and excellent craftsmanship, Sean Mcgirr as the first creative director to have never worked with the founder Lee Alexander McQueen creates a new vision and a buzz to fashion critics and fans of McQueen as LadyJunon on thefashionspot.com forum comments, “… Mcgirr’s history should give him enough experience to cultivate the elements that McQueen needs…” and others like Tourbillions says, “… It will be interesting to see how he does..”