Alexander McQueen - one of the modern genius of the fashion world was found dead early in the morning on 11 February 2010 at his London home. The great designer committed a suicide, he hanged himself nine days after the death of his adored mother Joyce. Insiders say that McQueen was devastated after his mother’s death. McQueen’s death came just days before the start of London fashion week and less than three weeks before the great designer was about to present his latest collection at the Paris fashion week.
Alexander McQueen was born in 1969, the youngest of six children, to an East End taxi driver, and left school at 16, describing himself as the “pink sheep” of the family – an outsider, though much loved. He took an apprenticeship at Savile Row tailors Anderson and Sheppard and later at Gieves & Hawkes, where, he later admitted, he once chalked “I am a cunt” inside the lining of a suit destined for the Prince of Wales.
By 20 he was working for the designer Koji Tatsuno, later moving to Milan where he became Romeo Gigli’s design assistant, before enrolling at Central St Martins.
Even then, his tutors marked him out as an extraordinary talent, and his entire graduate collection in 1994 was bought by the influential stylist Isabella Blow, who became a close friend and mentor. McQueen was said to be devastated when she killed herself in 2007.
His early shows were shocking, but hugely influential – one, entitled Highland Rape, included sharply tailored tartan silhouettes and his now notorious “bumster” trousers, cut so low they revealed the crack of the buttocks.
In 1996 McQueen was appointed chief designer at Givenchy in Paris, provoking controversy among the French fashion establishment. The stint ended abruptly in 2001 after he sold 51% of his own name label, which he had continued to show in London, to Givenchy’s rivals at Gucci Group.
The designer, who was gay and described himself as “naturally monogamous”, had a non-legally binding marriage ceremony to George Forsyth, a documentary filmmaker, in 2000, but the relationship ended shortly afterwords.
By the end of 2007, Alexander McQueen had boutiques in London, New York, Los Angeles, Milan, and Las Vegas. He dressed celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss and Rihanna frequently wear Alexander McQueen clothing out to events. Lady Gaga often incorporates Alexander McQueen pieces in her music videos.
Alexander Mcqueen has won the British Fashion Designer of the Year award four times.
The fashion world has lost one of its genius.
fashionmagazine-best.com
His wife Aida Calvelli had a large family, six children in all, though only his sons—Vasco, Aldo, Ugo, and Rodolfo—would play a role in leading the company. After Guccio’s death in 1953, Aldo helped lead the company to a position of international prominence, opening the company’s first boutiques in London, Paris, and New York. Even in Gucci’s fledgling years, the family was notorious for its ferocious infighting. Disputes regarding inheritances, stock holdings, and day-to-day operations of the stores often divided the family and led to alliances. Gucci expanded overseas, board meetings about the company’s future often ended with tempers flaring and luggage and purses flying. Gucci targeted the Far East for further expansion in the late 1960s, opening stores in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Korea. At that time, the company also developed its famous GG logo (Guccio Gucci’s initials), the Flora silk scarf (worn prominently by Hollywood actress Grace Kelly), and the Jackie O shoulder bag, made famous by Jackie Kennedy, the wife of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
brothers Aldo and Rodolfo controlled equal 50% shares of the company, though contributed less to the company than he and his sons did. In 1979, Aldo developed the Gucci Accessories Collection, or GAC, intended to bolster the sales for the Gucci Parfums sector, which his sons controlled. GAC consisted of small accessories, such as cosmetic bags, lighters, and pens, which were priced at considerably lower points than the other items in the company’s accessories catalogue. Aldo relegated control of Parfums to his son Roberto in an effort to weaken Rodolfo’s control of the overall operations of the company.
Gucci cars sported boldly striped green, red, and buff upholstery and on the door panels, as well as the designer’s emblems and exterior color selections.
Pronunciamentos from the Milanese maestro whose clothes are so coveted stores chain them to the racks: “A man’s stature must be elegant with a rather light bone structure. He should be tall, but not too tall. He should have a long neck and important hands and feet…. I don’t have any of those things I’ve told you. I am only 5’6½” tall. But it’s all right. Perhaps I have other things.” As to his taste in women, the palazzo-dwelling bachelor says, “I am more attracted by beautiful details—the mouth, the nose—than by the whole. Finding myself in front of a beauty can be frightening. A beautiful woman whom you love is always a danger for you. You are always afraid that someone will take her away from you.” His solution: “I much prefer a nonbeauty with a great personality.”
