What Alexander McQueen is up to (and it’s not a collection)
Forget the catwalks, this time it’s sound that’s causing a sensation for McQueen.
At a time when the house is going through a complex strategic period, in June 2024 it decided not to talk about fabrics, but rhythms. Under the guidance of Seán McGirr, its new artistic director, who arrived at the end of 2023, Alexander McQueen is launching an original project: McQueen Reverb.
When fashion listens to its emotions
Entitled Reverb, the initiative reflects a fundamental trend: fashion that no longer wants to be merely looked at, but experienced. As Françoise Hernaez (Kantar Insights) explains, “For young people, the value of luxury lies in precious moments and sensory experiences. Today’s luxury is no longer the object, but the shared experience.
McQueen understands this. For his community, he offers a series of events at the crossroads of music, style and intimacy.
Artists, vinyl and a store as a stage
The Reverb program features four live listening sessions in the brand’s London flagship (Old Bond Street). Carefully selected artists will take part: Bar Italia, A.G. Cook, John Glacier and Nilüfer Yanya. Each artist will reveal his or her favorite vinyls, influences and musical obsessions. A sensory and confidential format, far from the frontality of a fashion show.
At each session, a curator – Cyrus Goberville, Francesca Gavin, Femi Adeyemi or Cynthia Igbokwe – leads the discussions, ensuring a broader, almost cultural reading of the performance.
A community gamble in a tense context
At a time when the Kering group, McQueen’s parent company, is suffering a 14% drop in sales and has already closed 25 stores since January, the Reverb project resonates as a powerful act: that of relocalizing luxury in proximity, human ties and shared emotion.
It’s also a nod to iconic designer Lee Alexander McQueen, whose artistic sensibility was largely nourished by London’s underground music scene.
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