Get the latest gossip
A little light enters the shade of McQueen’s gothic DNA in Paris
Seán McGirr’s banshee-inspired show seems to set tone for more accessible, buzzy – and commercial – label
But the brand’s gothic, witchy DNA was writ large in the choice of muse, the collection inspired by the looming figure from Irish folklore: the banshee, a female spirit whose wails, or “keening”, are said to foretell the death of a family member. As a remarkably composed McGirr explained backstage after the show: “It’s a common thread that runs between me and McQueen.” She also haunted a gothic 1994 collection called, simply, Banshee, in which, famously, a visibly pregnant model with a shaved head walked to a soundtrack of screaming. Photograph: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Alexander McQueenMcGirr’s take on the banshee legends, which he “grew up with – stories that my mother, my grandmother spoke to me about” – featured washed and shredded silk chiffon and organza dresses worn on a steel catwalk engulfed in smoke.
Or read this on The Guardian