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After over a decade at the helm of Alexander McQueen — having taken over for Lee following his passing — Sarah Burton is leaving the brand, both parties confirmed Monday. The news was first reported by Vogue Business.
“I am so proud of everything I’ve done and of my incredible team at Alexander McQueen,” Burton said, in a statement. “They are my family, and this has been my home for the past 26 years. I want to thank François-Henri Pinault for believing in me and offering me this amazing opportunity. Above all, I want to thank Lee Alexander McQueen. He taught me so much, and I am eternally grateful to him. I am looking forward to the future and my next chapter and will always carry this treasured time with me.”
Burton started working at Alexander McQueen straight out of Central Saint Martins in 1997, having interned for the brand the year prior. She worked extremely closely with founder Lee Alexander McQueen, rising up to head of womenswear before eventually taking over in the summer of 2010. Burton debuted her first collection for Alexander McQueen in October of that year in Paris; she’ll present her final one, for Spring 2024, on Sept. 30 in Paris.
Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering (Alexander McQueen’s parent company), thanked Burton “for her work over the past two decades, first alongside Lee Alexander McQueen, where her role was instrumental to his success, and then as the creative director since 2010,” in a statement. “Through her own experience, sensitivity and talent, Sarah continued to evolve the artistic expression of this iconic house,” he said. “She kept and continued Lee’s heritage, attention to detail and unique vision, while adding her own personal, highly creative touch.”
A successor wasn’t revealed. In a press release, Kering only teased that “a new creative organization for the House will be announced in due course.”
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