Alexander McQueen dies.

Very sad news today as the death of  Alexander McQueen is announced, just days before the start of London Fashion Week and weeks before he was due to unveil his new collection at Paris Fashion Week.

McQueen trained in tailoring after leaving school at 16 and went to work at Savile Row’s Anderson & Sheppard, eventually making suits for Prince Charles.  He had the distinction of being named British designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003 and went on to be awarded the CBE, as well as being named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. Hoping to work as a pattern cutter tutor at  Central Saint Martins he was persuaded to enroll in the course himself and after graduating set up his own label based in the East London. He went on to be named head designer at Givenchy in 1996, succeeding John Galliano, before joining forces with Gucci, who bought 51 per cent of his own company.   

His distinguished technical ability and fearless  approach to design was matched only  by a creative vision which gave rise to  some of the most dramatic and inspired catwalk collections of the last decade. Fashion has lost one of its best and most rare.