bridal hairstyle: Top Fashion Designer Alexander Mcqueen

Alexander McQueen by Fashion Wire Press

Lee Alexander McQueen,(17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashiondesigner and couturier best known for hisin-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring,his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as wellas the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows.Heis also known for having worked as chief designer at Givenchyfrom 1996 to 2001 and for founding his own label under the name Alexander McQueen.Hisachievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the Year awards(1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003), as well as the CFDA'sInternational Designer of the Year award in 2003.

EarlyLife And Education

Born on 17 March 1969 in Lewisham, London, to Scottish taxi driverRonaldand social scienceteacher Joyce, McQueen was the youngest of six children. He grew up in a council flatin a tower block in Stratford.He attended Carpenters Road Primary School. He started making dresses for histhree sisters at a young age and announced his intention to become a fashiondesigner.

McQueen attended Rokeby Schooland left aged 16 in 1984 with one O-level in art, going on to serve an apprenticeship with Savile Rowtailors Anderson & Sheppard, before joining Gieves & Hawkesand, later, the theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans.^[10]The skills he learned as an apprentice on Savile Row helped earn him areputation in the fashion world as an expert in creating an impeccably tailoredlook.

Personal life

McQueen was openly gay and saidhe realized his sexual orientation when veryyoung. He told his family when he was 18 and, after a rocky period, theyaccepted his sexuality. He described comingout at a young age by saying, "I was sure of myself and mysexuality and I've got nothing to hide. I went straight from my mother's wombonto the gay parade".

In the summer of 2000,McQueen had a marriage ceremony with his partner George Forsyth, a documentaryfilmmaker, on a yacht in Ibiza. The marriage was not official, as same-sex marriage in Spain wasnot legal then. The relationship ended a year later and McQueen and Forsythmaintained a close friendship.

McQueen received press attention after the May2007 suicideof international style icon Isabella Blow. Rumours werepublished that there was a rift between McQueen and Blow at the time of herdeath, focusing on McQueen's under-appreciation of Blow.^[29]In response to these rumours, McQueen told an interviewer:

“It's so much bollocks.These people just don't know what they're talking about. They don't know me.They don't know my relationship with Isabella. It's complete bullshit. Peoplecan talk; you can ask her sisters ... That part of the industry, they shouldstay away from my life, or mine and Isabella's life. What I had with Isabellawas completely dissociated from fashion, beyond fashion.”

McQueen was an accomplished scubadiver and used his passion as a source of inspiration in hisdesigns, including spring 2010's "Plato's Atlantis." Much of hisdiving was done around the Maldives.

Career

While on Savile Row,McQueen's clients included MikhailGorbachev and Prince Charles. At the age of20 he spent a period of time working for Koji Tatsunobefore travelling to Milan,Italy and working for Romeo Gigli.

McQueen returned to Londonin 1994 and applied to Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art and Design, to work as a pattern cutter tutor.Because of the strength of his portfolio he was persuaded by the Head of theMasters course to enroll in the course as a student. He received his mastersdegree in fashion design and hisgraduation collection was bought in its entirety by influential fashion stylistIsabellaBlow, who was said to have persuaded McQueen to become known asAlexander (his middle name) when he subsequently launched his fashion career. Icelandicsinger Björksought McQueen's work for the cover of her album Homogenicin 1997. McQueen also directed the musicvideo for her song "AlarmCall" from the same album.

McQueen's early runway collections developedhis reputation for controversy and shock tactics (earning the title "l'enfant terrible" and"the hooligan of English fashion"), with trousers aptly named "bumsters"and a collection entitled "Highland Rape". In 2004, journalistCaroline Evans also wrote of McQueen's "theatrical staging ofcruelty," in 032c magazine, referring to hisdark and tortured renderings of Scottish History. McQueen was known for hislavish, unconventional runway shows: a recreation of a shipwreck for his spring2003 collection; spring 2005's human chess game; and his fall 2006 show"Widows of Culloden," which featured a life-sized hologram ofsupermodel Kate Moss dressed in yards of rippling fabric.

McQueen's"bumsters" spawned a trend in low rise jeans; on their debut theyattracted many comments and debate. Michael Oliveira-Salac, the director ofBlow PR and a friend of McQueen's said that "The bumster for me is whatdefined McQueen." McQueen also became known for using skulls in hisdesigns. A scarf bearing the motif became a celebrity must-have and was copiedaround the world.

McQueen has been credited with bringing dramaand extravagance to the catwalk. He used new technology and innovation to add adifferent twist to his shows and often shocked and surprised audiences. Thesilhouettes that he created have been credited for adding a sense of fantasyand rebellion to fashion. McQueen became one of the first designers to useIndian models in London.

McQueen also designed a range of dresses underthe name of "manta", priced at around £2800. The line,named after the manta ray, was inspired by aholiday McQueen took in the Maldives in 2009. The designs havebeen worn by various models and celebrities, including Lily Cole.

Accomplishments

Some of McQueen's accomplishmentsincluded being one of the youngest designers to achieve the title "British Designer of the Year",which he won four times between 1996 and 2003;he was also awardedthe CBEand named International Designer of the Year by the Council of FashionDesigners in 2003. December 2000 saw a new partnership for McQueen,with the GucciGroup acquiring 51% of his company and McQueen serving as Creative Director. Plansfor expansion included the opening of stores in London, Milan and New York, andthe launch of his perfumes Kingdom and, most recently, My Queen. In 2005,McQueen collaborated with Puma to create a special lineof trainers for the shoe brand. In 2006 he launched McQ, a younger, morerenegade lower priced line for men and women.

McQueen became the firstdesigner to participate in MAC's promotion of cosmeticreleases created by fashion designers. The collection, McQueen, was released on11 October 2007 and reflected the looks used on the Autumn/Winter McQueencatwalk. The inspiration for the collection was the ElizabethTaylor movie Cleopatra, and thus themodels sported intense blue, green, and teal eyes with strong black linerextended Egyptian-style. McQueen handpicked the makeup.

Company

By the end of 2007,Alexander McQueen had boutiques in London, New York, Los Angeles, Milan and Las Vegas. Celebrity patrons,including Nicole Kidman, PenélopeCruz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Rihanna,J-Pop Queens such as Ayumi Hamasaki, NamieAmuro, and Koda Kumi have frequently beenspotted wearing Alexander McQueen clothing to events. Björk,AyumiHamasaki and Lady Gaga have oftenincorporated Alexander McQueen pieces in their music videos. By wearing hisdesigns, celebrities such as the above mentioned have further increased thenotability of the McQueen brand.

DeathAnd Memorial

McQueen's death was announced on theafternoon of 11 February 2010. He was found that morning by his housekeeper athis home on Green Street, London W1, hanged. Paramedicswere called and they pronounced him dead at the scene.

McQueen died days before LondonFashion Week, though he was not scheduled to show, and nine days after the death of his mother, Joyce, 75, fromcancer. David LaChapelle, a friend of the designer said that McQueen "was doinga lot of drugs and was very unhappy" at the time of his death.

McQueen left a note saying"Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee." The MetropolitanPolice stated that the death was notsuspicious, but did not confirm that the death was a suicide.

On 17 February 2010, Westminster Coroner'sCourt was told that a post-mortem examination found that McQueen's death was due to asphyxiationand hanging. Theinquest was adjourned until 28 April 2010, where McQueen's death was officiallyrecorded as suicide. McQueen, who had been diagnosed with mixed anxiety anddepressive disorder took an overdose prior to hanging himself. He had takendrug overdoses in May and July 2009. Prior to hanging himself with his"favourite brown belt", the inquest recorded that he had slashed hiswrists with a ceremonial dagger and a meat cleaver. Coroner Dr Paul Knapmanreported finding "a significant level of cocaine, sleeping pills, andtranquilisers in the blood samples taken after the designer's death."

“On behalf of Lee McQueen's family,Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founderand designer of the Alexander McQueen brand, has been found dead at his home.At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond sayingthat we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee'sfamily.

Lee's family has asked for privacyin order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media willrespect this.”

---Alexander McQueen Office,Official Website, 11 February 2010---

Tributes

On 16 February 2010, pop musician Lady Gagaperformed an acoustic, jazz rendition of her hit single Telephone and segued into Dance In The Darkat the 2010 Brit Awards. During the performance, Gaga honored McQueen, saying,"this is for Alexander McQueen." She also commemorated McQueen afteraccepting her award for Best International Artist, Best International Femaleand Best International Album.

Gaga dedicated a song on the specialedition of her third album, Born This Way,to him entitled "Fashion of His Love".

Bjork sang her rendition of Gloomy Sundayat St. Paul's Cathedral in London. She wore an outfit created by McQueen wheremany mourners came to gather.

Various other musicians, who werefriends and collaborators with McQueen, commentated on his death, including Kanye West,Courtney Love, and Katy Perry.

In March 2010, a visual tribute to McQueen andhis "manta" design was organised featuring Naomi Campbell,Kate Mossand Annabelle Neilson, among others.

TheMetropolitan Museum of Art in NewYork City hosted a posthumous exhibition of McQueen's work in 2011 titled SavageBeauty. Despite being open for only threemonths, it was one of the most popular exhibitions in the museum's history. Theexhibition was so successful that Alexander McQueen fans and industryprofessionals worldwide began rallying at Change.org to "Please MakeAlexander McQueen's Savage Beauty a Traveling Exhibition" to bring honorto McQueen and see his vision become a reality: to share his work with theentire world.

TheFinal Show

Right before Alexander McQueen'sdeath he had an eighty percent unfinished autumn/winter collection, 16 pieces,presented during Paris Fashion Week on March 8th 2010, to a select handful offashion editors in a mirrored, gilded salon at the 18th-century Hôtel deClermont-Tonnerre.

Fashion editors picked his finaldesigns. Editors said the show was hard to watch because it showed how McQueenwas obsessed with the afterlife. The clothes had a medieval and religious look.Basic colours that were repetitively used were red, gold and silvers withdetailed embroidery. His models were accessorized to show his love for theatricalimagery. "Each piece is unique, as was he," McQueen's fashion housesaid in a statement that was released with the collection.

After company owner Gucci confirmedthat the brand would continue, McQueen's long-term assistant Sarah Burtonwas named as the new creative director of Alexander McQueen in May 2010. InSeptember 2010, Burton presented her first womenswear collection in Paris.

Pictures Gallery For Alexander Mcqueen