This isn’t a collection; it’s a social document. Seán McGirr’s vision for McQueen’s SS26 pre-collection unfolds at Eltham Palace, turning the royal residence into a stately venue for total hedonism. The mood is a high-society scandal, a “life of the party” escape where youth seek “stately abandon”. The entire visual atmosphere is built on a “simmering tension between rebellion and romanticism”, explicitly evoking Dafydd Jones’s iconic book, The Last Hurrah.

It’s an irreverent, refined world where the shattered elegance of chandelier embroidery clashes with the strict lines of black tie tailoring. It’s a gorgeous subversion, a uniform for revelry unbound from tradition.

alexandermcqueen.com