McQueen Ushers In a Joyful Art Deco Christmas
Alexander McQueen is celebrating the holiday season with a cinematic tribute to Art Deco glamour. The brand’s 2025 Holiday Campaign was filmed inside Eltham Palace, a 1936 architectural jewel located in southeast London and now part of English Heritage — an ideal setting for a house that thrives on the tension between classicism and rebellion.
The campaign, launched this week, was directed by Seán McGirr, photographed by Sammy Khoury, and creatively directed by SJ Todd. Together, they transformed the palace’s sleek geometry and gleaming interiors into a stage for McQueen’s vision of joyful elegance and subversive British heritage.
“The choice of Eltham Palace was deliberate,” explained McGirr. “It captures the central tension of the collection — British heritage reimagined through a new kind of hedonism. It’s about evolution, about finding balance between restraint and liberation. That ongoing dialogue between formality and rebellion lies at the heart of McQueen, and it’s something I continue to explore with each collection and campaign.”
Models appear in Pre-Spring 2026 looks — a series of rich velvet and satin dresses in deep burgundy tones, adorned with jewel-embellished collars and spiderweb lace, alongside crystal-studded Knuckle clutches and metallic Skull Flower bags. Tailored tuxedo suits, asymmetrical MacQueen tartans, and crystal-dusted knitwear complete the lineup, blending a sense of power with poetic delicacy.
Though the collection featured pre-spring designs, the atmosphere of the shoot evoked the romantic, moody spirit of McQueen’s Fall 2025 season — a celebration of timeless decadence viewed through a contemporary lens. Under McGirr’s direction, the house continues to refine its dual identity: fiercely modern yet deeply rooted in heritage, always balancing elegance with edge.
