McQueen Autumn Winter 2026
Discover the campaign – Surface yields to deeper impulses; artifice undone.
McQueen unveils the Autumn Winter 2026 campaign, captured by Glen Luchford. A cinematic evocation of performativity and character, exploring the psychological conflict between interiority and exteriority—the tension between a meticulously curated facade and the rich, visceral reality beneath.
Moving between scenes, the fourth wall slips. Precision and control yield to deeper, tactile impulses, centring desire, sexuality and strength.
The innate drive and power embedded deep in the foundations of McQueen manifests in the confronting gaze of enduring friend of the house Karen Elson, Paloma Elsesser, Jacqui Hooper and Xiao Wen. Together, bridging McQueen past and present.
The collection is animated in a context that reinforces the cultural heritage of the house: uncompromising rigour and artistry, synthesising sound, cinema, and spectacle.
Within the garments: a visceral material tension. Sharpened precision tailoring, a hallmark of the Savile Row heritage of McQueen, is juxtaposed with sculptural evening silhouettes in fluid silk georgette. Stirring trompe l'oeil feather embroideries and ornate lace compel closer inspection; touch.
An exploration of depth, darkness and beauty cast in a noir light.
Creative Director
Seán McGirr
Photographer & Director
Glen Luchford
Art Director
SJ Todd
Stylist
Camille Bidault-Waddington
Casting Director
Julia Lange
Hair
Anthony Turner
Make-up
Daniel Sallstrom
Nails
Ama Quashie
Set Designer
Gideon Ponte
Production
Farago Projects
Talent
Karen Elson, Paloma Elsesser, Jacqui Hooper, Xiao Wen
Music
“Saturday”
Performed by Desire
Produced by Italians Do It Better
Written by John Padgett, Adam Miller and Nathaniel Miller
Published by Italians Do It Better, Superior Music Publishing, administered by Bucks Music Group Limited
McQueen Autumn Winter 2026 Show
“We’re always on; always curating, consuming, performing and being watched. More and more, we crave something intimate, visceral and real.”
— Seán McGirr, Creative Director
Surface yields to deeper impulses; the artifice undone.
Exploring a psychological tension between interiority and exteriority; performance and paranoia. Individualism under an unwavering gaze.
The polished veneer cracks, giving rise to something stirring and tactile – human – underscoring precision and control.
The boundary between interior confinement and expansive nature blurs, liberating the domestic. Floral wallpaper prints and lace are brought outside. Bed jackets become eveningwear, reimagined as rose-quilted bombers rendered in icy, Hitchcockian hues. Wild hand-embroidered flowers emerge from 1960s silhouettes, pearlescent and sharpened to a fine point.
Classic fabrics are subverted with textural treatments and a diverting lustre: changeant and pearlescent leather trench coats, sliced silk mikado suiting, and crushed floral jacquards.
Tailoring, rooted in the Savile Row heritage of the house, embodies its inherent tensions: razor sharp with an archival waterfall collar, bringing fluidity to McQueen’s structural rigour.
Image belies interior artistry. Lace is not a surface detail but something intimate, trapped between layers of featherlight organza. Dresses are framed with intricate feather embroidery, invoking freedom — blending bullion, satin stitch and organza. Trompe l’oeil inviting deeper exploration; touch.
Nature takes hold. Relief and respite in its unfolding.
Details
Show Credits
Tom Scutt is a British Tony award-winning artist working across theatre, live music and fashion as production designer, stage director and creative director. Notable recent work includes Cabaret (West End/Broadway), Pet Shop Boys Dreamworld tour, and Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.
A. G. Cook is a British Grammy award-winning musician and music producer, characterised by his innovative and experimental style. Cook is instrumental in shaping the evolution of contemporary pop music, working with the likes of Beyoncé, Charli xcx, Troye Sivan and more.
Styling
Camille Bidault-Waddington
Casting
Julia Lange
Hair
Anthony Turner
Makeup
Daniel Sallstrom
Nails
Ama Quashie
Concept and Production Design
Tom Scutt
Music
A. G. Cook
Movement
Ryan Chappell
Production
La Mode en Images
Lighting
Raiden Studiosits unfolding.
