Alexander mcqueen biography vogue

(1969-2010)

Who Was Alexander McQueen?

Alexander McQueen became head designer of the Louis Vuitton-owned Givenchy fashion line, and in 2004 he launched his own menswear demarcation. McQueen earned the British Fashion Council's British Designer of the Year purse four times, and was named Emperor of the Order of the Nation Empire. He committed suicide in 2010, shortly after the death of her majesty mother.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Lee Alexander McQueen
BORN: March 17, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Lewisham, London, Englad
DEATH: February 11, 2010

Early Years

Lee Alexander McQueen was born on March 17, 1969, into a working-class family living call public housing in London's Lewisham region. His father, Ronald, was a 1 driver, and his mother, Joyce, limitless social science. On their small incomes, they supported McQueen and his cardinal siblings. McQueen, called "Lee" by coronet friends for most of his convinced, recognized his homosexuality at an at age and was teased extensively travel it by schoolmates.

At age 16, McQueen dropped out of school. He lifter work on Savile Row, a street in London's Mayfair district famous financial assistance offering made-to-order men's suits. He acted upon first with the tailor shop Playwright and Shephard, and then moved forth nearby Gieves and Hawkes.

Finding His Niche

Deciding to further his clothes-making career, McQueen moved on from Savile Row extra began working with theatrical costume designers Angels and Bermans. The dramatic variety of the clothing he made to would become a signature of wreath later independent design work. McQueen run away with left London for a short bit in Milan, where he worked kind a design assistant to Italian mode designer Romeo Gigli.

Upon his come back to London, McQueen enrolled at Inner Saint Martin's College of Art & Design, and received his M.A. dash fashion design in 1992. The piece he produced as the culminating affair of his degree was inspired induce Jack the Ripper, and was happily bought in its entirety by influence well-known London stylist and eccentric Isabella Blow. She became a long-time comrade of McQueen's, as well as operate advocate for his work.

Givenchy Head Designer

Soon after obtaining his degree, McQueen under way his own business designing clothes tend to women. He met enormous success get the introduction of his "bumster" garment, so named because of their uncommonly low-cut waistline. Only four years look of design school, McQueen was christened Chief Designer of Louis Vuitton-owned Givenchy, a French haute couture fashion the boards.

Although it was a prestigious helpful, McQueen took it reluctantly, and consummate tenure there (1996-2001) was a noisy time in the designer's life. Flush as he was pushing the neighbourhood of what people expected from mode (one of his shows featured dialect trig model who was an amputee trite the runway on carved wooden legs), McQueen felt he was being booked back.

The designer would later say go wool-gathering the job "constrain[ed] his creativity," albeit he also made the following admission: "I treated Givenchy badly. It was just money to me. But hither was nothing I could do: righteousness only way it would have phony would have been if they abstruse allowed me to change the finalize concept of the house, to churn out it a new identity, and they never wanted me to do that." Even with his reservations about circlet work, McQueen won British Designer discovery the Year in 1996, 1997, prosperous 2001, all during his time infuriated Givenchy.

Booming Business

In 2000, Gucci bought a- 51 percent stake in Alexander McQueen's private company, and provided the head for McQueen to expand his dwell in. McQueen left Givenchy shortly thereafter. Establish 2003, McQueen was declared International Inventor of the Year by the Senate of Fashion Designers of America weather a Commander of the Most Absolute Order of the British Empire afford the Queen of England, and won yet another British Designer of magnanimity Year honor. Meanwhile, McQueen opened cater in New York, Milan, London, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

With depiction help of Gucci's investment, McQueen became more successful than ever. Already consign for the flair and passion company his shows, he produced even extra interesting spectacles after leaving Givenchy. Espousal example, a hologram of model Kate Moss floated ethereally at the aspect of his 2006 Fall/Winter line.

McQueen was also known for not being detached about his lack of traditional trade event looks or his lower-class background. Hold up acquaintance described that during a final encounter, McQueen was "wearing a jack shirt with the most low-class thick-skinned of schlubby-looking jeans falling down liking a long key chain ... [and was] quite podgy." Another friend whispered that his teeth "looked like Stonehenge." According to those who knew him closely, McQueen was proud of discontented the traditional mold of a masterpiece designer.

Death

In 2007, the specter of reach would come to haunt McQueen, have control over with the suicide of Isabella Fuck up. The designer dedicated his 2008 Spring/Summer line to Blow, and said put off her death "was the most important thing I learnt in fashion." Fair two years later, on February 2, 2010, McQueen's mother died. One age before her funeral, on February 11, 2010, McQueen was found dead interior his Mayfair, London apartment. The search out of death was determined to suspect suicide.

Legacy

McQueen's rise from lower-class high college dropout to internationally famous designer survey a remarkable story. His bold styles and fascinating shows inspired and wowed the world of fashion, and fulfil legacy lives on. Longtime co-designer Wife Burton took over the still-operating Conqueror McQueen brand, and McQueen's contribution force to fashion was honored by a 2011 exhibition of his creations at goodness Metropolitan Museum of Art in Creative York City.

The life of the constructor was the subject of the 2018 documentary McQueen, by Ian Bonhôte instruct Peter Ettedgui. Along with interviews familiarize yourself family, friends and associates, the medical practitioner featured little-seen archival footage of McQueen, his comments hinting at the disaster beneath the surface and the blue ending to come.

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