No matter how divisive Seán McGirr’s claim to the post at Alexander McQueen might be, one cannot deny that he is, truly, living up to the Lee Alexander McQueen legacy.

L’enfant terrible was a nickname that was ascribed to the latter, a provocateur and disruptor that only tracked a path of his visions. For McGirr, whose debut show left the fashion world in a state of debate, provocative is right up his alley. His brazenness cuts cleanly through. He soft-launched a shortening of the house name, now going punchier with just “McQueen”. He launched hoof heels that bore too much a likeness to that of the real thing. He made his first bag offering for the house an eponymously named one.

The McQueen Sling follows in the footsteps of this provocation. Angular, asymmetric and available in five colours and three finishes, the Sling takes on a single piece of leather, and is origami-ed into its structure. Taking on an inoffensive — and frankly, a very current — elongated silhouette, the new model finds its edge in its modern detailing. Pointed corners, a McQueen Cross-Bar buckle that sits perpendicular to its wide crossbody strap, cracked white leather and blood-toned red coatings, all work in tandem to deliver the shock factor that Lee McQueen was once famed for. But it isn’t all shock or horror. The bag stands to be a new generation testament to the founder’s spirit, now executed with the vitality and vigour that is McGirr’s youth-driven perspective.

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