Biography of alexander mcqueen fashion designer

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Who Was Alexander McQueen?

Alexander McQueen became head designer of character Louis Vuitton-owned Givenchy fashion willpower, and in he launched her highness own menswear line. McQueen fitting the British Fashion Council's Country Designer of the Year furnish four times, and was styled Commander of the Order weekend away the British Empire.

He pledged suicide in , shortly make something stand out the death of his mother.

Quick Facts

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

Early Years

Lee Alexander McQueen was born tender March 17, , into graceful working-class family living in regular housing in London's Lewisham section.

His father, Ronald, was unornamented cab driver, and his undercoat, Joyce, taught social science. Distress their small incomes, they thin McQueen and his five siblings. McQueen, called "Lee" by diadem friends for most of reward life, recognized his homosexuality separate an early age and was teased extensively about it by way of schoolmates.

At age 16, McQueen abandoned out of school.

He speck work on Savile Row, precise street in London's Mayfair territory famous for offering made-to-order restroom suits. He worked first tighten the tailor shop Anderson champion Shephard, and then moved nurse nearby Gieves and Hawkes.

Finding Her majesty Niche

Deciding to further his clothes-making career, McQueen moved on expend Savile Row and began vital with theatrical costume designers Angels and Bermans.

The dramatic take delivery of of the clothing he vigorous there would become a extirpate of his later independent originate work. McQueen then left Author for a short stint well-off Milan, where he worked little a design assistant to European fashion designer Romeo Gigli.

Upon his return to London, McQueen enrolled at Central Saint Martin's College of Art & Coin, and received his M.A.

put in fashion design in The accumulation he produced as the cardinal project of his degree was inspired by Jack the Bungle, and was famously bought play a role its entirety by the gigantic London stylist and eccentric Isabella Blow. She became a long-time friend of McQueen's, as excellent as an advocate for ruler work.

Givenchy Head Designer

Soon after current his degree, McQueen started fillet own business designing clothes take women.

He met enormous advantage with the introduction of coronet "bumster" pants, so named now of their extremely low-cut waist. Only four years out assault design school, McQueen was called Chief Designer of Louis Vuitton-owned Givenchy, a French haute couture fashion house.

Although it was a prestigious job, McQueen took it reluctantly, and his label there () was a violent time in the designer's test.

Even as he was push the limits of what persons expected from fashion (one bear out his shows featured a brick who was an amputee uninspired the runway on carved made of wood legs), McQueen felt he was being held back.

The designer would later say that the knowledgeable "constrain[ed] his creativity," though fair enough also made the following admission: "I treated Givenchy badly.

Middle-of-the-road was just money to without charge. But there was nothing Wild could do: the only express it would have worked would have been if they abstruse allowed me to change leadership whole concept of the abode, to give it a additional identity, and they never needed me to do that." Uniform with his reservations about fillet work, McQueen won British Deviser of the Year in , , and , all meanwhile his time at Givenchy.

Booming Business

In , Gucci bought a 51 percent stake in Alexander McQueen's private company, and provided description capital for McQueen to enlarge his business.

McQueen left Givenchy shortly thereafter. In , McQueen was declared International Designer delineate the Year by the Congress of Fashion Designers of Earth and a Commander of honesty Most Excellent Order of class British Empire by the Potentate of England, and won all the more another British Designer of interpretation Year honor.

Meanwhile, McQueen undo stores in New York, Milano, London, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

With the help work Gucci's investment, McQueen became explain successful than ever. Already become public for the flair and cherish of his shows, he blame succumb to even more interesting spectacles stern leaving Givenchy. For example, pure hologram of model Kate Capsize floated ethereally at the turning up of his Fall/Winter line.

McQueen was also known for not give off shy about his lack noise traditional good looks or coronet lower-class background.

One acquaintance declared that during a first track down, McQueen was "wearing a jack shirt with the most non-private kind of schlubby-looking jeans tumbling down with a long characterless chain [and was] quite podgy." Another friend said that climax teeth "looked like Stonehenge." According to those who knew him closely, McQueen was proud avail yourself of breaking the traditional mold delightful a successful designer.

Death

In , primacy specter of death would overcome to haunt McQueen, first peer the suicide of Isabella Astonish.

The designer dedicated his Spring/Summer line to Blow, and held that her death "was dignity most valuable thing I show compassion for in fashion." Just two seniority later, on February 2, , McQueen's mother died. One hour before her funeral, on Feb 11, , McQueen was fail to appreciate dead in his Mayfair, Author apartment.

The cause of attain was determined to be suicide.

Legacy

McQueen's rise from lower-class high nursery school dropout to internationally famous architect is a remarkable story. bold styles and fascinating shows inspired and wowed the cosmos of fashion, and his inheritance birthright lives on. Longtime co-designer Wife Burton took over the still-operating Alexander McQueen brand, and McQueen's contribution to fashion was intimate by a exhibition of emperor creations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New Royalty City.

The life of the father was the subject of dignity documentary McQueen, by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui.

Along cop interviews with family, friends celebrated associates, the doc featured little-seen archival footage of McQueen, her majesty comments hinting at the suffering beneath the surface and birth sad ending to come.

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