McQueen Readies for a Jolly Art Deco Christmas

DECO DECOR: McQueen is getting in on the art deco centenary action, shooting its 2025 holiday campaign at Eltham Palace in southeast London, an architectural gem built in 1936 that now belongs to the charity English Heritage.

The campaign, which launched this week, was overseen by creative director Seán McGirr, and photographed by Sammy Khoury. Art direction was by SJ Todd.

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McGirr said the choice of venue was no accident.

“Eltham Palace really captures the collection’s core tension: a British heritage subverted by a new hedonism. It’s an evolution of the idea of restraint and release, which is a driving force across every collection at McQueen. That constant dialogue between formality and rebellion is at the heart of the house, and something I’m continuing to explore with each collection and campaign,” he said.

The palace itself is a hybrid. It consists of a medieval great hall — part of a former royal residence — and an art deco mansion added by the millionaire owners and philanthropists Stephen and Virginia Courtauld. Stephen’s brother Samuel was the cofounder the Courtauld Institute of Art and the eponymous gallery in London.

The images and campaign film capture bright young things wearing high-shine clothing and accessories and partying with abandon.

Models are wearing looks from the pre-spring 2026 collection, including deep burgundy velvet and satin dresses with jeweled collars and red cobweb lace, and carrying crystal-studded Knuckle clutches and metallic Skull Flower bags. They’re also decked in tuxedo tailoring, asymmetric “MacQueen” tartan and crystal-embellished knitwear.

Although the looks were from pre-spring 2026, the mood was romantic, and nodded to the fall 2025 collection.

For that show, McGirr was inspired by the idea of neo-dandyism, with references that ran from Victorian-era Oscar Wilde and Vesta Tilley to Helmut Berger in the 1970 film “Dorian Gray.”

“A dandy is someone who has a real radical sense of self and a strength of character, which is really McQueen,” said the designer, who took a gender-agnostic approach to casting and dressing the models, who emerged onto the Paris runway from a mirrored portal.

Whether they’re dandies or deco lovers, it’s clear that McQueen’s fans are in the mood to celebrate.

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