Seán McGirr is leaving Alexander McQueen after three years as creative director, the fashion house announced on October 15. The Irish designer’s departure comes less than a month after he presented his Spring/Summer 2027 collection in London, marking the brand’s return to London Fashion Week after years of showing in Paris. Kering, the luxury group that owns the label, said it would announce new creative leadership soon.

Photo: Getty

McGirr joined Alexander McQueen in October 2023, succeeding Sarah Burton, who spent 26 years at the house, including 13 as creative director. Burton took over the role following the death of founder Lee Alexander McQueen in 2010. Her departure in 2023 opened the door for McGirr, whose appointment brought a new designer to a label closely associated with its founder’s unconventional runway shows and distinctive tailoring.

Before joining McQueen, McGirr served as head of ready-to-wear at JW Anderson. His previous experience also included positions at Dries Van Noten, Burberry and Uniqlo. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, he entered the role with a background spanning established luxury houses and more accessible fashion retail.

Photo: Instagram/@McQueen

His first collection for Alexander McQueen, presented in Paris in 2024, received mixed reviews. The designs included exaggerated knitwear, shearling jackets and embellished trouser suits, signaling a different approach from Burton’s collections. Critics questioned whether his early work had established a clear direction for the house, whose identity remains closely linked to the late designer’s work.

McGirr continued to explore the brand’s established references while introducing his own ideas. His tenure included the return of recognizable McQueen motifs and an emphasis on unconventional styling. However, his collections continued to attract debate over how the house could evolve while retaining the identity that made it one of Britain’s best-known fashion labels.

Photo: Instagram/@McQueen

His final collection, for Spring/Summer 2027, was presented in London on September 20. The show took place at Lincoln’s Inn Chapel and included sculptural tailoring, leather harnesses, metallic details and gowns. It marked a major change in the house’s runway schedule, returning McQueen to London Fashion Week for the first time in more than two decades.

McGirr’s departure comes as parent company Kering reassesses Alexander McQueen’s business. The group has been working to address challenges across its luxury portfolio, while reporting on the fashion house has highlighted restructuring and efforts to refocus its operations. Kering has not publicly detailed a specific reason for McGirr’s exit, and no successor had been announced at the time of the departure statement.

Photo: Instagram/@Seán McGirr

In its announcement, Kering CEO Luca de Meo thanked McGirr for his contribution and said the group intended to establish a new direction for the house. Alexander McQueen CEO Gianfranco D’Attis also acknowledged the designer’s work and his role in reconnecting the brand with London and its creative community.

McGirr’s next move has not been announced. The fashion industry will now be watching for Kering’s choice of successor and the direction the next creative director takes at Alexander McQueen.

Anthony Vaccarello is leaving Saint Laurent after ten years as creative director, bringing his tenure at the French fashion house to an end. Kering, Saint Laurent’s parent company, confirmed his departure on October 9, 2026, and said the house would announce its new creative leadership soon.

Appointed in April 2016 to succeed Hedi Slimane, Vaccarello oversaw a period of substantial revenue growth while developing a distinct interpretation of the house’s established design codes. His tenure also saw Saint Laurent expand into film production, adding another dimension to its presence in fashion and culture.

“Through his creative vision and exacting standards, he has contributed to strengthening the enduring influence of one of France’s greatest couture Houses,” Kering chief executive Luca de Meo said in a statement.

Cédric Charbit, president and chief executive of Saint Laurent, credited Vaccarello with strengthening the house’s image and desirability while contributing to its creative development and cultural influence.

Anthony Vaccarello’s Appointment at Saint Laurent

Photo: Saint Laurent

Vaccarello was 36 when Francesca Bellettini, then chief executive of Saint Laurent, appointed him creative director in April 2016, four days after Slimane’s departure. Before joining the house, the Belgian designer had served as creative director of Versus, Versace’s second line, since 2015, following a collaboration with the label that began in 2013.

He had also run his own label since 2009, closing the business after accepting the Saint Laurent position. In 2011, he won the Andam Fashion Award, then presided over by Pierre Bergé, co-founder of Yves Saint Laurent.

Vaccarello inherited a house that had experienced considerable growth under Slimane. Saint Laurent’s revenue rose from €354 million in 2011 to €974 million in 2015. Under Vaccarello, revenue more than tripled to €3.3 billion in 2022, according to Vogue Arabia.

The designer drew on his upbringing in Brussels and education at La Cambre, alongside the influence of his Sicilian heritage. In a 2015 interview with Vogue Australia, he described his approach as combining Belgian construction and deconstruction with Italian sensuality.

How Vaccarello Shaped Saint Laurent

Throughout his tenure, Vaccarello revisited the house’s established silhouettes while developing his own approach to their construction and proportions. Sahariennes, trench coats, pencil skirts, brocades and evening dresses featured in his collections, which drew on the founder’s work without simply reproducing it.

His runway presentations also reinforced Saint Laurent’s association with Paris. Shows staged against the Eiffel Tower, including presentations at the Trocadéro, became a defining feature of his tenure. His first Trocadéro show was Vogue Runway’s most-viewed presentation of that season.

From Fall 2019, his collections increasingly expanded on the founder’s designs, testing familiar silhouettes and codes through contemporary proportions and construction.

Vaccarello understood that his interpretation would not appeal to everyone. In a 2018 interview with Vogue, he acknowledged that audiences had different expectations of Saint Laurent and that previous creative directors had faced similar responses. He said he was comfortable with differing opinions about his work.

His Spring/Summer 2027 Collection Was His Last

Photo: Saint Laurent

Saint Laurent presented its Spring/Summer 2027 collection in Paris on September 29, 2026, ten years and two days after Vaccarello’s debut at the house.

Staged beneath the Eiffel Tower and three large, candlelit chandeliers, the show opened with 49 looks in shades of gold before closing with 10 black looks. Sahariennes, trench coats, pencil skirts, brocades and evening dresses revisited familiar elements of the Saint Laurent wardrobe.

The color sequence reversed the ending of Yves Saint Laurent’s Fall 1991 Rive Gauche collection, which had concluded with gold looks.

Speculation about Vaccarello’s future at the house had circulated since the summer. Ahead of the presentation, he declined the preview interviews usually held before a collection and distributed black calla lilies with a note describing the collection as personal and emotional.

Music from Miles Davis’s soundtrack for Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows played before the finale, which included a surprise performance appearance by Charlotte Gainsbourg. Vaccarello then took his final bow surrounded by models before crossing the runway to hand an object to his son. The gesture prompted speculation about its meaning, but no explanation was confirmed.

Kering’s announcement on October 9 confirmed that the presentation was Vaccarello’s final collection for Saint Laurent.

Saint Laurent Productions Extended the House’s Work in Film

Vaccarello’s work at Saint Laurent extended beyond fashion. In 2023, he conceived the launch of Saint Laurent Productions, the house’s film-production arm.

Its projects have included Emilia Pérez and Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope. The initiative also continued Saint Laurent’s historical connection with cinema. Yves Saint Laurent designed costumes for Catherine Deneuve in Luis Buñuel’s 1967 film Belle de Jour.

Vaccarello also maintained relationships with figures associated with the house, including Charlotte Gainsbourg and Anja Rubik. Their connection to his Saint Laurent reflected a longstanding relationship between the fashion house and the women who have helped shape its public image.

Saint Laurent’s Business Performance

Photo: Getty Images

Saint Laurent’s revenue peaked at €3.3 billion in 2022 before declining over the following three years. The downturn coincided with weaker demand across the luxury sector and the house’s decision in 2023 to reposition its business away from wholesale distribution.

Revenue fell to approximately €2.64 billion in 2025. Reuters reported that sales declined by 9 per cent in 2024 and 6 per cent in 2025 before largely stabilising in 2026.

Vaccarello’s departure comes as Kering works to improve its performance under de Meo. The group has also changed creative leadership at Gucci, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta amid a broader effort to address the luxury slowdown.

The next creative director will inherit a house with an established international presence and a business facing renewed pressure to grow. Kering has not yet announced who will take over from Vaccarello.

Who Will Succeed Anthony Vaccarello?

Saint Laurent has confirmed that its new creative leadership will be announced soon, but no successor has been named.

The appointment will mark the next stage for a house whose identity has been shaped by successive creative directors, each bringing a different interpretation of Yves Saint Laurent’s work. Vaccarello’s decade at the brand combined references to the founder’s designs with his own approach to silhouette, runway presentation and the relationship between fashion and film.

For now, Saint Laurent’s next creative direction remains undecided publicly, as Vaccarello’s ten-year tenure comes to a close.

Twenty-five years after David Beckham’s famous free kick against Greece, adidas is marking the anniversary with two Predator boots inspired by the footwear he wore during England’s 2001 World Cup qualifier.

The anniversary falls on October 6, the date in 2001 when Beckham scored a stoppage-time free kick at Old Trafford to earn England a 2-2 draw with Greece. The result secured England’s place at the 2002 FIFA World Cup after Germany drew with Finland in the group’s other final qualifier.

Photo: Instagram/@Complexsneakers

The new release includes the David Beckham Predator and the Predator Precision Remade. Both use the white-and-red color scheme associated with Beckham’s boots from the 2001 match while incorporating elements of adidas’ current Predator line.

The David Beckham Predator was co-designed with Beckham and draws from the latest Predator Elite FT L-Tech concept. It combines a premium leather forefoot with modern performance technology. A red leather fold-over tongue carries an embroidered Trefoil, while Trefoil logos appear within the Three Stripes on both sides of the boot. Beckham branding is also placed on the lateral heel.

The Trefoil appears for only the second time on a Predator, following Beckham’s 2024 special-edition model. According to adidas, that release sold out within 24 hours.

Photo: Instagram/@Complexsneakers

The Predator Precision Remade offers a closer recreation of the boot associated with Beckham’s 2001 free kick. It reproduces the white-and-red design of the original Predator Precision while using updated football-boot technology. The release is designed to connect the original model with today’s Predator range and is available to both players and collectors.

The free kick itself remains one of Beckham’s most significant moments with England. Greece had taken a 2-1 lead, leaving England needing a draw to secure qualification if Germany failed to beat Finland. Beckham did not know the result of the Germany match when he stepped up to take the free kick.

He struck the ball into the top corner in stoppage time, leveling the match and sending England to the World Cup. The goal also came three years after Beckham’s red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, an incident that had made him the focus of intense criticism in England.

Photo: Instagram/@Complexsneakers

The new Predator release links that moment to one of the most recognizable boot designs of Beckham’s playing career. Rather than simply reproducing an old model, adidas has used the anniversary to combine the visual details associated with the 2001 Predator Precision with technology from its current football range.

Both models are available through select adidas retail stores and adidas’ football site.