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Known for his daring designs and brash attitude, Alexander McQueen shook up the fashion establishment and adorned everyone from Madonna to Lady Gaga. His sudden death, announced the first day of Fashion Week, shocks the industry.
By CHRISTINA PASSARIELLO And PAUL SONNE
Paris
British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was a master of the gothic and theatrical who often bemoaned constraints on his creativity, as he struggled to adapt to an industry that found itself increasingly under pressure to make products that sell.
New York City's fashion week begins with a somber note on news that iconoclast designer Alexander McQueen had died. WSJ's Elva Ramirez gets reaction from the fashion-show attendees at Bryant Park.
The provocative designer died at his apartment in London's posh Mayfair district Thursday, his company said, shocking the fashion world which was gathering in New York for the beginning of the season's international fashion shows. His casual line, McQ, was due to be shown in New York on Thursday; the event was canceled. He was planning to present his collection in Paris in less than a month. Mr. McQueen was 40.
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Mr. McQueen was best-known lately for his dramatic designs, such as reptilian dresses and hoof-like shoes that were met with critical acclaim among the runways of the fashion world. He was a darling of celebrities; Courtney Love and Sarah Jessica Parker would stop by his London store to see him. And he invited controversy: In 2005, when his friend Kate Moss was embroiled in a media scandal over alleged drug use, Mr. McQueen appeared on stage at his Paris show wearing a t-shirt that read "We love you Kate."
The designer's roots were far from the milieu where he eventually became a star. Born in east London in 1969, Mr. McQueen was the youngest of six children whose father was a taxi driver; later in life he often joked about his cockney accent. He quit school at age 16 to take up an apprenticeship across town on the tony Saville Row, where he learned classic English tailoring at Gieves & Hawkes and Anderson & Sheppard.
Mr. McQueen's bold creativity became evident when he enrolled in London's prestigious fashion school Central St. Martins. Jane Rapley, who was a dean of Central St. Martins at the time, remembers Mr. McQueen struggling with his fees and sometimes with coursework, since he had not had previous formal training. McQueen was down-to-earth and tough, she recalls. "There was an aggression in him," she says. "I think it grew out of his background, his ambition and his drive. He hadn't been used to moving in a whole range of social circumstances, he had things to prove."
In 1994, the entire Jack-the-Ripper-themed collection Mr. McQueen produced for his master's thesis was bought by English style icon Isabella Blow—a remarkable feat for a young graduate. She wore the clothes to functions and spread his name. Later, when Ms. Blow dropped by McQueen's store, the designer would pick out something for her to wear and she would take it without trying it on, says Yuliya Zakharenko, who worked at the store for three years. (Ms. Blow committed suicide in 2007, after which Mr. McQueen dedicated his Spring 2008 show to her and included bottles of Fracas, her favorite fragrance, in the gift bags.)
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Saks Fifth Avenue was one of the first retailers to carry his line. In the early 1990s, Saks invited Mr. McQueen to one of its London dinners for British designers. Nicole Fischelis, the current fashion director for Macy's Inc., remembers designer Geoffrey Beene complimenting the young British talent. "'You are an individualist and you must stay like that,'" Ms. Fischelis says Mr. Beene told Mr. McQueen. "And McQueen said, 'Mr. Beene, this is the biggest compliment I ever had.' He had emotion in his eyes," Ms. Fischelis adds.
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"His ability to cut was parallel to someone like Christian Dior," said Mark Henderson, Chief Executive of Gieves & Hawkes. "He had the most amazing natural ability." A stint at theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans planted the seed for dramatic fashion shows later in his career.
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By CHRISTINA PASSARIELLO And PAUL SONNE
Paris
British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was a master of the gothic and theatrical who often bemoaned constraints on his creativity, as he struggled to adapt to an industry that found itself increasingly under pressure to make products that sell.
New York City's fashion week begins with a somber note on news that iconoclast designer Alexander McQueen had died. WSJ's Elva Ramirez gets reaction from the fashion-show attendees at Bryant Park.
The provocative designer died at his apartment in London's posh Mayfair district Thursday, his company said, shocking the fashion world which was gathering in New York for the beginning of the season's international fashion shows. His casual line, McQ, was due to be shown in New York on Thursday; the event was canceled. He was planning to present his collection in Paris in less than a month. Mr. McQueen was 40.
...
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Mr. McQueen was best-known lately for his dramatic designs, such as reptilian dresses and hoof-like shoes that were met with critical acclaim among the runways of the fashion world. He was a darling of celebrities; Courtney Love and Sarah Jessica Parker would stop by his London store to see him. And he invited controversy: In 2005, when his friend Kate Moss was embroiled in a media scandal over alleged drug use, Mr. McQueen appeared on stage at his Paris show wearing a t-shirt that read "We love you Kate."
The designer's roots were far from the milieu where he eventually became a star. Born in east London in 1969, Mr. McQueen was the youngest of six children whose father was a taxi driver; later in life he often joked about his cockney accent. He quit school at age 16 to take up an apprenticeship across town on the tony Saville Row, where he learned classic English tailoring at Gieves & Hawkes and Anderson & Sheppard.
Mr. McQueen's bold creativity became evident when he enrolled in London's prestigious fashion school Central St. Martins. Jane Rapley, who was a dean of Central St. Martins at the time, remembers Mr. McQueen struggling with his fees and sometimes with coursework, since he had not had previous formal training. McQueen was down-to-earth and tough, she recalls. "There was an aggression in him," she says. "I think it grew out of his background, his ambition and his drive. He hadn't been used to moving in a whole range of social circumstances, he had things to prove."
In 1994, the entire Jack-the-Ripper-themed collection Mr. McQueen produced for his master's thesis was bought by English style icon Isabella Blow—a remarkable feat for a young graduate. She wore the clothes to functions and spread his name. Later, when Ms. Blow dropped by McQueen's store, the designer would pick out something for her to wear and she would take it without trying it on, says Yuliya Zakharenko, who worked at the store for three years. (Ms. Blow committed suicide in 2007, after which Mr. McQueen dedicated his Spring 2008 show to her and included bottles of Fracas, her favorite fragrance, in the gift bags.)
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Saks Fifth Avenue was one of the first retailers to carry his line. In the early 1990s, Saks invited Mr. McQueen to one of its London dinners for British designers. Nicole Fischelis, the current fashion director for Macy's Inc., remembers designer Geoffrey Beene complimenting the young British talent. "'You are an individualist and you must stay like that,'" Ms. Fischelis says Mr. Beene told Mr. McQueen. "And McQueen said, 'Mr. Beene, this is the biggest compliment I ever had.' He had emotion in his eyes," Ms. Fischelis adds.
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"His ability to cut was parallel to someone like Christian Dior," said Mark Henderson, Chief Executive of Gieves & Hawkes. "He had the most amazing natural ability." A stint at theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans planted the seed for dramatic fashion shows later in his career.
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He certainly brought back a lot of fun to fashion. I for one have observed a moment's silence today, in my green AMQ sunnies.
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