A Bit About Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen, born March 17, 1969, grew up in London’s East End and was the youngest of six children. When he turned 16 he quit school and started work at a famous suit designer where he tailored suits for the likes of Prince Charles. He then returned to London and enrolled at fashion college where after staging a fashion show for his masters thesis, Isabella Blow, a famous London stylist caught wind of his immense talents, and bought his entire collection.

Alexander McQueen was named British Designer of the Year in 1996, the same year he was also named Head Designer at Givenchy.  In 1998 he was appointed the amazing role of chairman at Moët Hennessy–Louis Vuitton.

Gucci Group bought controlling interest of his brand in 2000, but he stayed as Creative Director. The following year he departed the house of Givenchy to diversify his brand. He was also made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003.

There was an amazing retrospective of his life’s work exhibited in 2011 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which of course, broke attendance records for fashion exhibits and became one of the museum’s most-visited shows.