[4] McLean specialises in avant-garde headwear for haute couture designers, catwalks, fashion campaigns and personal collectors.

The designs are made often from a variety of different materials not normally associated with millinery, such as PVC, Perspex, felt, leather, wood veneer, fibreglass and nylon, and are influenced by strong geometry and historical figures[5] as well as concepts in modern art.

House of Flora worked with award-winning printer Danny Flynn on a collection of accessories inspired by letterpress printing, and which debuted at the 2009 London Fashion Week; this saw the designer's work being rendered as laser-cut typography on rubber for garments and accessories - the piece, entitled Dress No.2, was reviewed at the 2009 London Fashion Week.

[9] House of Flora designs have been modelled by Beyoncé, on the cover of The Face magazine,[11] by Kate Moss for French Vogue, wearing haute couture Givenchy headwear designed by McLean,[12] and Helena Bonham Carter, Agyness Deyn and Róisín Murphy.

McLean's work has also been photographed by Mario Testino, Paolo Roversi, Nick Knight, and Arthur Elgort, among others.

[26] In 2011, as part of their continuing 'Design' book series, The Design Museum produced 'Fifty Hats That Changed The World', which featured the collaboration of McLean and hairstylist, Neil Moodie[27]