Alexander McQueen Was and is still a huge force in the fashion world. With his ‘Taxi Driver’ collection from 1993, he immediately achieved what most designers try to achieve a lifetime: creating a new silhouette, namely his now iconic Bumster pants. By the time his spring show ‘IRERE’ of 2003 was released and wrote the Oyster dress fashion history, no one could have suspected that a less striking accessory from the collection would put such a weight in the scale.
The Skull-Raaal of Alexander McQueen
Few accessories have endured the test of time like Alexander McQueen’s skull scarf. The print was inspired by the theme of the collection. The show opened with a short film, directed by John Maybury, in which a shipwrecked in the ocean and survives to transform into a princess in the Amazon.
The title ‘IRERE’ is said to come from a indigenous language from the Amazon and mean ‘transformation’. Given the background story, no shipwreck is complete without a pirate-inspired skull print.
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On the catwalk in 2003.
The McQueen Skull Scarf is back
There are many variants of the accessory; However, the original print has never changed – further proof of the iconic design. The skulls have been popping up again lately. During his press tour for A Complete Unknown Timothée Chalamet wore two versions of the scarfwhile he SNL presented. Subsequently, the scarves made a comeback on the autumn-catwalk of 2025, led by the current creative director of McQueen, Seán McGirr, together with a green blouse with skull print.
Recently wore Charli XCX on Glastonbury several scarves tied together as top – Three important examples of the long -awaited return. The scarf has the potential to make a comeback in the mainstream, just like the pearl choker of Vivienne Westwood.
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Timothee Chalamet at the afterparty of Saturday Night Live in January.
“I want it to make a complete comeback,” says fashion designer Jake Flemming. He jokes that he might be a bit biased as an avid fan of the brand (then and now), and adds: ‘It is time for this gem to get his moment again, and I think people will love it completely. Gen Z will give it a cooler new life than we have ever seen. “
He hopes that the current generation of fashion fans will also make full use of it and it will style as a tie, belt or tash sheet, “since nowadays we all love Jane Birkin-like things.”
Alexander McQueen Skull scarf in black/white
Nostalgic and a classic
Like all nostalgic accessories, the scarf had a stranglehold on us for most of the 2000s and decorated the neck of celebrities as Nicole Richie,, “ Kim Kardashian,, “ De Olsens and Ashlee Simpsonto name just a few. More recently, the scarf got a shoutout in season one of the Netflix series You – Beck gives the item that she really can’t afford, as a gift; Her girlfriend rightly points her out and says that they are rarely on sale – proof of its lasting style and desirability.
‘The design has always been so superficial, macabre and almost pirate -like that it almost cheesy is, but somehow that sincerity comes through the noise, “fashion designer and theoreticist Rian Phin tells Elle.
‘Funny enough, most people don’t know that the scarf has never disappeared from the website. Retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Saks still sold him before McGirr’s appointment, “says Alejandro, founder and ‘Chief Bag Officer‘From the popular accessory instagram account Y2Kbags. He adds that he also knows people who have always worn it.
In a fashion world characterized by transformation, just like that of ‘Irere’, it is incredibly rare to find an accessory that has remained so unchanged after more than twenty years. Although many brands are redesigned pieces from the archive, The McQueen scarf with skulls The pleasure of staying the same. Now it’s time to officially put him back in the spotlight.
