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Alexander McQueen - Source: Reuters -
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British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, whose provocative
collections made him a global star, was found dead at his London
home on Thursday in what media said appeared to be suicide. He was
40.
Nicknamed the "hooligan" of British fashion for his close-cropped
hair, trademark Doc Marten boots and shocking catwalk collections,
McQueen rose from teenage trainee tailor to runway darling before
the age of 30. He had been expected to unveil his new collection at
Paris Fashion Week in March.
"He was found dead this morning," McQueen's communications director
Samantha Garrett said.
A statement released by his office - referring to the designer by
his given first name, Lee - read: "On behalf of Lee McQueen's
family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee
McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand,
has been found dead at his home."
Police said they were not treating his death as suspicious. The BBC
reported that McQueen had announced the death of his mother on his
Twitter site earlier this month.
McQueen's friend, the influential British fashion insider Isabella
Blow who helped his career take flight, took her own life in 2007
at the age of 48.
"At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news
beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of
shock and grief with Lee's family," the statement from McQueen's
office said.
Hooligan at Givenchy helm
Born in a working class area of London, the youngest of six
children, McQueen left school at the age of 16 and gained an
apprenticeship at the traditional Savile Row tailors Anderson and
Sheppard, moving on to neighbouring Gieves and Hawkes.
The former British Designer of the Year winner eventually gained a
masters degree in fashion design from London's prestigious Central
Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
McQueen had an ability to shock and his autumn/winter 1995
collection "Highland Rape" which featured dishevelled looking
models in torn clothing was considered a classic example.
The following year, McQueen was named head designer at the staid
Paris couture house Givenchy. His first collection for the French
atelier was not widely considered to be a success.
But he went on to establish his own label and become part of the
Gucci stable of brands owned by French retailer and luxury goods
group PPR, drawing in fans, customers and fame and earning a place
at the top table of fashion.
"Alexander McQueen was one of the greatest fashion designers of his
generation," PPR Chief Executive Francois-Henri Pinault said in a
statement. "His sometimes provocative genius, admired and hailed by
all, was constantly opening up new perspectives."
Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman praised the designer for his
"brilliant imagination".
"At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding
fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on
another he was a modern day genius whose gothic aesthetic was
adopted by women the world over," Shulman wrote on the fashion
bible's website.
Supermodel Kate Moss cancelled a London appearance on Thursday
evening and sent word in an emailed statement from her agency Storm
that she was "shocked and devastated at the tragic loss of her dear
friend Lee McQueen".
Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld told French radio that McQueen had
always flirted with death in his work and that success and fame
were never enough to sustain happiness.
"In these types of professions (modelling, acting, fashion design)
if you haven't got a strong back and are not hard-headed you expose
yourself to anguish," Lagerfeld said.
"He also had a nervous depression which reached its culminating
point with the death of his mother last week."
