Alexander McQueen, born as Lee Alexander McQueen, on 17th of March 1969, is an English fashion designer.
Born in the East End of London, McQueen started making dresses for his three sisters at a young age announcing his intention of becoming a fashion designer.
McQueen left school at the age of 16, landing himself an apprenticeship with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, then working for Gieves & Hawkes and the famous theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans. While he was on Savile Row, McQueen's clients included Mikhail Gorbachev and the Prince of Wales. At the age of 20, he spent a period of time working for Koji Tatsuno before traveling to Milan, and working for designer Romeo Gigli.
McQueen returned to London in 1994 and applied to London's most prestigious fashion school, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design to work as a pattern cutter tutor. Due to his impressive portfolio he was persuaded by the Head of the Masters course to enroll on the course as a student. He received his Masters degree in Fashion design and famously, his graduation collection was bought in its entirety by influential fashion stylist Isabella Blow, who was said to have persuaded McQueen to change his name from Lee to Alexander (his middle name) when he subsequently launched his fashion career.
McQueen's in his early runway collections earned a reputation of controversy and shock tactics, he was called "the hooligan of English fashion", and created a collection entitled the "Highland Rape". It has also been claimed that he was on income support and that he needed to change his name for his first show so that he could continue to receive benefits.
The president of LVMH, Bernard Arnault instated McQueen as head designer at Givenchy in 1996, succeeding John Galliano. Upon arrival at Givenchy, McQueen has insulted the founder by calling him 'irrelevant', his first couture collection with Givenchy was unsatisfactory and even McQueen himself told Vogue in October 1997 that the collection was "crap". McQueen toned down his act at Givenchy, but continued with his rebellious streak causing controversy in autumn 1998 with a show having car-robots spraying paint over white cotton dresses, and double amputee model Aimee Mullins striding down the catwalk on carved wooden legs. McQueen stayed with Givenchy until March 2001, when the contract he called "constraining his creativity" was ended.
Some of Alexander McQueen's accomplishments include being one of the youngest designers to achieve the title "British Designer of the Year", which he won three times between 1996 and 2003. He has also been awarded the CBE; he was named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. In December 2000 he formed a new partnership with The Gucci Group acquiring 51% of the company, and McQueen serving as Creative Director. Stores opening in London, Milan, and New York, the launch of his perfumes "Kingdom" and more recently "My Queen". In 2005, McQueen collaborated with Puma to create a special line of sneakers for the shoe brand.
In the summer of 2000, McQueen married his twenty-four-year-old lover George Forsyth, a documentary filmmaker. The ceremony took place in Ibiza on a yacht owned by a friend of supermodel Kate Moss, the bridesmaid.
On February 11th 2010 the great Alexander Mcqueen was found dead in his London apartment. The cause of his death remains unknown.
