Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen was a London-born fashion designer. He is the youngest of six children and was born on the 17^th of March 1969. He died on the 11^th of February 2010 after committing suicide not long after his mum passed away. McQueen left school with just one O-level in art and began his fashion career by working as an apprentice in Anderson and Shepard, a very established tailor’s in Savile row. His career went from strength to strength; he even received a master’s degree at the central martin’s art college in 1994.

McQueen has worked with everyone; from David bowie to bjork and has a strong celebrity following including; Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Rihanna, J-pop queens such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, and Koda Kumi have frequently been spotted wearing Alexander McQueen clothing to events. Björk, Ayumi Hamasaki and Lady Gaga have often incorporated Alexander McQueen pieces in their music videos. He was the head designer at Givenchy for 5 years. McQueen had established boutiques in London, New York, Los Angeles, Milan and Las Vegas.

McQueen never failed to amaze with his clothes, he had a real eye for fashion and could find a pattern from almost anything and more importantly a pattern that could then be turned into one that could compliment any body shape; a true genius.

Sarah Burton was announced as the new creative director for Alexander McQueen in 2010 and went on to design as one of the most famous dresses in history; Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.

mcQueen has influenced my AS decorative textiles module because of the way he used feathers, butterfly wings, fish scales and animal skins. What is important about McQueen’s use of these things is how he focused on certain details of the object and zoomed them in.

I think alexander McQueen was a true inspiration to the fashion industry and revolutionized the way we look at fashion. I hope that some of his fantastic craftsman ship is shown in my work.