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This article is about the designer. For the brand, see Alexander McQueen (brand).
For other uses, see Alexander McQueen (disambiguation).
Alexander McQueen
CBE

McQueen in 2009
Born Lee Alexander McQueen
17 March 1969
Lewisham, London, England
Died 11 February 2010 (aged 40)[1]
Mayfair, London, England
Cause of death Suicide by hanging
Education Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Occupations
Fashion designercouturier
Years active 1992–2010
Labels
Alexander McQueen
McQ
Awards
British Fashion Designer of the Year
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Council of Fashion Designers of America International Designer of the Year 2004
Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion
designer and couturier.[2] He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and
was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001.[2] His achievements in fashion
earned him four British Designer of the Year awards (1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003), as
well as the Council of Fashion Designers of America International Designer of the
Year award in 2003.[2] McQueen died by suicide in 2010 at the age of 40, at his
home in Mayfair, London, shortly after the death of his mother.[3]

McQueen had a background in tailoring before he studied fashion and embarked on a

career as a designer. His MA graduation collection caught the attention of fashion
editor Isabella Blow, who became his patron. McQueen's early designs, particularly
the radically low-cut "bumster" trousers, gained him recognition as an enfant
terrible in British fashion. In 2000, McQueen sold 51% of his company to the Gucci
Group, which established boutiques for his label worldwide and expanded its product
range. During his career, he designed a total of 36 collections for his brand,
including his graduation collection and unfinished final collection. Following his
death, longtime collaborator Sarah Burton took over as creative director of his
label.

As a designer, McQueen was known for sharp tailoring, historicism, and imaginative
designs that often verged into the controversial.[4] He explored themes such as
romanticism, sexuality, and death, and many collections had autobiographical
elements. Among his best-known individual designs are the bumsters, the skull
scarf, and the armadillo shoes. McQueen's catwalk shows were noted for their drama
and theatricality, and they often ended with elements of performance art, such as a
model being spray painted by robots (No. 13, Spring/Summer 1999), or a life-size
illusion of Kate Moss (The Widows of Culloden, Autumn/Winter 2006).

McQueen's legacy in fashion and culture is extensive. His designs were showcased in
two retrospective exhibitions: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (2011 and 2015) and
Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022). He remains the subject of
journalistic and academic analysis, including the book Gods and Kings (2015) by
fashion journalist Dana Thomas and the documentary film McQueen (2018).

Early life
Lee Alexander McQueen was born on 17 March 1969 at University Hospital Lewisham in
Lewisham, London,[5] to Ronald and Joyce McQueen, the youngest of six children.[6]
[7] His Scottish father worked as a London taxi driver, and his mother a social
science teacher.[8][3] It was reported that he grew up in a council flat,[9] but,
in fact, the McQueens moved to a terraced house in Stratford in his first year.[10]
McQueen attended Carpenters Road Primary School, before going to Rokeby School.[11]

He was interested in clothes from a young age. As the youngest of six children,
McQueen began experimenting with fashion by making dresses for his three sisters.
His earliest fashion memory reaches back to when he was just three years old,
drawing a dress on the wall of his East London family home. He was also fascinated
by birds and was a member of the Young Ornithologists' Club; later, in his
professional career, he often used birds as motifs in his designs.[8][12]

Career
Early years

Black tailored suit from Bellmer La Poupée (Spring/Summer 1997)

McQueen left school aged 16 in 1985 with only one O-level in art and took a course
in tailoring at Newham College.[8] He went on to serve a two-year apprenticeship in
coat-making with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard before joining Gieves &
Hawkes as a pattern cutter for a short time.[13][14] The skills he learned as an
apprentice on Savile Row helped earn him a reputation in the fashion world as an
expert in creating an impeccably tailored look.[4] McQueen later claimed that he
had sewed obscenities into the lining of suits made for Prince Charles, although a
recall of suits made by Anderson & Sheppard to check found no evidence of this.[15]

After Savile Row, he worked briefly for the theatrical costumiers Angels and
Bermans, making costumes for shows such as Les Misérables.[8] In 1989, at the age
of 20, he was hired by experimental Mayfair-based designer Koji Tatsuno. He first
worked as a pattern cutter before moving into clothing production.[16][17] Shortly
after, he moved to fashion label Red or Dead, working under designer John
McKitterick; here he gained experience with fetishwear.[18][16] When McKitterick
left Red or Dead in early 1990 to launch his own label, he hired McQueen.[19] By
this time, McQueen was interested in becoming a designer himself, and McKitterick
recommended he try for an apprenticeship in Italy, then the centre of the fashion
world.[19]

In spring 1990, McQueen left for Milan, Italy.[20] He had no standing job offer,
but secured a position with Romeo Gigli on the basis of his portfolio and tailoring
experience.[21] He resigned from Gigli's studio in July 1990, and had returned to
London – and McKitterick's label – by August that year.[22]

Central Saint Martins

Frock coat from Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims, 1992. McQueen incorporated his
own hair into the garment's lining and label.[23]
McQueen was still hungry to learn more about designing clothes, so McKitterick
suggested he see Bobby Hillson, the Head of the Masters course in fashion at London
art school Central Saint Martins (CSM).[24][25] McQueen turned up at CSM with a
pile of sample clothing and no appointment, seeking a job teaching pattern cutting.
[26][8] Hillson considered him too young for this, but based on the strength of his
portfolio, and despite his lack of formal qualifications, accepted McQueen into the
18-month masters-level fashion design course.[27][28][25] Unable to afford the
tuition, he borrowed £4,000 from his aunt Renee to cover it.[29][30]

McQueen started at CSM in October 1990.[31] He met a number of his future

collaborators there, including Simon Ungless, a friend and later room-mate, and
Fleet Bigwood, a print tutor at the school.[32][33][18] McQueen received his
master's degree in fashion design after presenting his graduation collection at
London Fashion Week in March 1992.[34][35] The collection, titled Jack the Ripper
Stalks His Victims, was bought in its entirety by magazine editor Isabella Blow.
[36][37] Through the early days of McQueen's career, Isabella Blow helped pave the
way using her unique style and contacts to help McQueen. She was in many ways his
mentor, which grew into a close friendship.

Blow was said to have persuaded McQueen to use his middle name Alexander when he
subsequently launched his fashion career.[3] Another suggestion was that he used
his middle name so as not to lose his unemployment benefits for which he was
registered while still a struggling young designer under the name of Lee McQueen.
[38] McQueen had said that he refused to be photographed in his early career
because he did not want to be recognised in the dole office.[39] In the 2018
documentary McQueen, his boyfriend and assistant designer in the early days, Andrew
Groves, said that McQueen dictated that they could only show him from behind to
avoid being identified and losing his unemployment benefits – his only significant
means of income at that time.[40]

Own label
In 1992, McQueen started his own label, and for a time he lived in the basement of
Blow's house in Belgravia while it was under renovation. In 1993, he relocated to
Hoxton Square, an area that also housed other new designers including Hussein
Chalayan and Pauric Sweeney.[41] His first post-graduation collection, Taxi Driver
(Autumn/Winter 1993), was inspired by the 1976 Martin Scorsese film of the same
name.[42] It was presented during London Fashion Week in March 1993 on a clothes
rack in a small room at the Ritz Hotel. McQueen was one of six young designers
sponsored by the British Fashion Council that season.[43][44][38] Taxi Driver saw
the introduction of the "bumster", an extreme low-rise trouser which McQueen
returned to again and again.[45] With this collection, McQueen began his early
practice of sewing locks of his own hair in perspex onto the clothes to serve as
his label.[46] When the exhibit closed, McQueen packed the items into bin bags and
headed out clubbing. He stashed the bags behind one club, started drinking, and
promptly forgot about them. When he returned the next day, the entire collection
was gone.[47][48] Nothing remains of the collection.[49]

Early runway shows

Jacket from The Birds, Spring/Summer 1995

McQueen's first professional runway show in 1993, the Spring/Summer 1994's Nihilism
collection, was held at the Bluebird Garage in Chelsea. His early runway
collections developed his reputation for controversy and shock tactics, earning him
monikers like enfant terrible and "the hooligan of English fashion".[6][50]
McQueen's Nihilism collection, with some models looking bruised and bloodied in
see-through clothes and extremely low-cut bumster trousers, was described by
journalist Marion Hume of The Independent as "theatre of cruelty" and "a horror
show".[51][52]

McQueen's second runway show was for the Banshee collection. Shortly after creating
this collection. McQueen met Katy England, his soon to be "right hand woman",[53]
outside a "high profile fashion show" trying to "blag her way in".[54] He asked her
to join him as creative director for his following collection, The Birds;[54] she
worked with McQueen for many years, serving as his "second opinion".[53] The Birds,
which was named after the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds and held at Kings
Cross, had a roadkill theme featuring clothes with tyre marks and the corsetier Mr
Pearl in an 18-inch waist corset.[55][56]

McQueen's "bumsters" were a common feature of his early shows. Although derided by
some and attracting many comments and debate, it spawned a trend in low-rise jeans,
especially after Madonna wore a pair in an MTV advert in 1994.[4][57][58] Michael
Oliveira-Salac, the director of Blow PR and a friend of McQueen's said, "The
bumster for me is what defined McQueen."[4]

Mainstream publicity

Highland Rape, Autumn/Winter 1995–96

Although McQueen had found some success with The Birds, it was his controversial
sixth collection, Highland Rape (Autumn/Winter 1995), that properly made his name.
The collection was inspired by Scottish history, particularly the Highland
Clearances of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Styling at the runway show was
violent and aggressive: many of the showpieces were slashed or torn, while others
were spattered with bleach or fake blood. Reviewers interpreted it as being about
women who were raped and criticised what they saw as misogyny and the glamorisation
of rape.[59][60] McQueen denied this, arguing that it referred to "England's rape
of Scotland", and was intended to counter other designers' romantic depiction of
Scottish culture. As for the charge of misogyny, he said he aimed to empower women
and for people to be afraid of the women he dressed.[59][61]

1996 coat designed for David Bowie, used in his Earthling album and tour
McQueen followed Highland Rape with The Hunger (Spring/Summer 1996) and Dante
(Autumn/Winter 1996). Dante further raised his international profile, and the
collection was shown twice; first in Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, later in
a disused synagogue in New York, both attended by large enthusiastic crowds.[62]
McQueen won his first British Designer of the Year award in 1996.[63]

McQueen's increasing prominence led to a number of projects for music artists. In

1996, he designed the wardrobe for David Bowie's tour of 1997, such as the Union
Jack coat worn by Bowie on the cover of his album Earthling.[64] Icelandic singer
Björk sought McQueen's work for the cover of her album Homogenic in 1997.[65]
McQueen also directed the music video for her song "Alarm Call" from the same
album[66] and later contributed the iconic topless dress to her video for "Pagan
Poetry".[67]

McQueen continued to be criticised for misogyny in some of his later shows for
designs that some considered degrading to women. In Bellmer La Poupée
(Spring/Summer 1997), inspired by Hans Bellmer's The Doll, McQueen placed models
including the black model Debra Shaw in metal restraints, which observers
interpreted as a reference to slavery, while the silver mouthpiece in Eshu
(Autumn/Winter 2000) forced the wearer to bare her teeth.[15][36] Similarly the
sex-doll lips make-up of the models in The Horn of Plenty (Autumn/Winter 2009–10)
was also criticised as being ugly and misogynistic.[68] The fashion writer of the
Daily Mail called McQueen "the designer who hates women".[69]

Givenchy appointment

Alexander McQueen for Givenchy Autumn 1998 'Blade Runner' suit

McQueen was appointed head designer of Givenchy in 1996 to succeed John Galliano
who had moved to Dior. Hubert de Givenchy, founder of the label known for its
elegant couture, criticised McQueen's appointment, describing it as a "total
disaster".[15] In turn, upon his arrival at Givenchy, McQueen insulted the founder
by calling him "irrelevant". McQueen's debut show for Givenchy, Spring/Summer 1997,
featured Greek mythology-inspired gold and white designs. Although beautiful, the
collection was considered a failure by some critics in contrast to the praise
lavished on John Galliano's debut collection for Dior.[70][71][72] McQueen himself
said to Vogue in October 1997 that the collection was "crap". McQueen had toned
down his designs at Givenchy, although he continued to indulge his rebellious
streak. Givenchy designs released by Vogue Patterns during this period may be
credited to the late designer.[73]
McQueen's relationship with Givenchy was fraught, and he left in March 2001 after
his contract ended, with McQueen arguing that Givenchy had started to "constrain"
his creativity.[74][75]

It's a Jungle out There

Main article: It's a Jungle out There (Alexander McQueen's Collection)

A design from the It's a Jungle out There collection

Five weeks after his criticised debut for Givenchy, McQueen staged his own show
entitled It's a Jungle out There, which was inspired by nature. The title was a
response to the criticism he received; according to McQueen, after he watched a
nature documentary about gazelles being hunted by lions: 'That's me!' Someone's
chasing me all the time, and, if I'm caught, they'll pull me down. Fashion is a
jungle full of nasty, bitchy hyenas."[76] Models wore eye make-up to resemble
gazelles and clothes with horns in the show. This collection, presented at London's
Borough Market, was judged a triumph. Amy Spindler of The New York Times, who had
criticised his Givenchy debut, wrote that McQueen was "fashion's closest thing to a
rock star. He isn't just part of the London scene; he is the scene.".[77] The
London show restored his reputation and he went on to produce a number of well-
received collections for Givenchy.[15]

McQueen staged many of his shows in an unusual or dramatic fashion. His

Spring/Summer 1998 Untitled collection (originally titled "Golden Shower" until the
sponsor objected) was presented on a catwalk showered with water in yellow light,
[78] while the following Joan (after Joan of Arc) ended with a masked model
standing in a ring of fire.[79]

No. 13

Selection of clothes from No. 13

A catwalk show that received widespread media attention was the Spring/Summer '99
collection No. 13 (it was his 13th collection), which was held in a warehouse in
London on 27 September 1998. It took inspiration from William Morris and the Arts
and Crafts movement, with its concern for handcraft.[80][81][82] Some of the
dresses incorporated Morris-inspired embroidery, and the show featured double
amputee Aimee Mullins in a pair of prosthetic legs intricately hand-carved in ash.
[83] The finale of the show, however, provided a counter-point to the anti-
industrial ethic of the Arts and Crafts movement. It featured Shalom Harlow in a
white dress spray-painted in yellow and black by two robotic arms from a car
manufacturing plant. It is considered one of the most memorable finales in fashion
history.[79]

Coiled corset made of aluminium rings, The Overlook Autumn/Winter 1999

McQueen's following collection, The Overlook (Autumn/Winter 1999), was named after
the Overlook Hotel from Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining. Inspired by the
film's winter setting, the runway show featured a winter scene with ice-skaters and
presented clothes mostly in white and grey.[84] A notable creation in the show was
the coiled corset made in collaboration with jeweller Shaun Leane, who also crafted
many other pieces for McQueen, including a Spine Corset (Untitled Spring/Summer
1998) and a yashmak in aluminium and crystal (Eye, Spring/Summer 2000).[85] The
coiled corset, an expansion of the idea of a coiled neck-piece made by Leane for
It's a Jungle Out There, was made out of aluminium rings.[86] It was sold in 2017
for $807,000.[87]

McQueen held his first runway show in New York in 1999, titled Eye (Spring/Summer
2000).[88] The theme was the West's relationship with Islam and featured designs
that were sexualised versions of traditional Islamic dress, which was poorly-
received by the critics. The show ended with models in niqāb and burqa floating
above spikes that had appeared out of water.[89][90][91]

Voss
One of McQueen's most celebrated and dramatic catwalk shows was his 2001
Spring/Summer collection, named Voss after a Norwegian town known for its wildlife
habitat.[92] Nature was reflected in the natural material used in some of his
clothes such as ostrich feathers,[92] but more unusual were outfits made out of
razor clam and mussel shells.[93][94]

The centre piece tableau that dominated the show was an enormous dark glass box
within a larger glass box. Inside the inner dark glass case was an interior filled
with moths and, at the centre, a naked model on a chaise longue with her face
obscured by a gas mask. The tableau was revealed when the glass walls of the inner
box fell away towards the end of the show and smashed onto the ground. McQueen said
that the tableau was based on the Joel Peter Witkin image Sanitarium.[95] The model
chosen by McQueen to be the centre of the show was the British writer Michelle
Olley.[96][97] The British fashion photographer Nick Knight said of the VOSS show
on his SHOWstudio.com blog: "It was probably one of the best pieces of Fashion
Theatre I have ever witnessed."[98]

Because the room outside the box was lit and the inside of the box was unlit before
the show started, the glass walls appeared as large mirrors, so that the seated
audience saw only their own reflection. Alexander McQueen later described his
thoughts on the idea used during VOSS of forcing his audience to stare at their own
reflection in the mirrored walls for over an hour before the show started:

"Ha! I was really pleased about that. I was looking at it on the monitor, everyone
trying not to look at themselves. It was a great thing to do in the fashion
industry—turn it back on them! God, I've had some freaky shows."[99]

Gucci partnership

The Girl Who Lived in the Tree Autumn/Winter 2008

Before his contract with Givenchy had finished, McQueen signed a deal with
Givenchy's rival Gucci in 2000, daring Givenchy to fire him.[100] Gucci bought 51%
of McQueen's company with McQueen remaining its creative director,[75] and the deal
allowed McQueen to expand his own Alexander McQueen label. In the following years a
number of Alexander McQueen boutiques opened in cities around the world, and the
label also extended into perfume, eyewear and accessories, trainers, as well as a
menswear line.[101][102]

McQueen continued to present his runway shows in the unconventional manner for
which he had become known. The Autumn 2001 show, his last show in London before
moving to Paris, featured a merry-go-round with models in clown make-up dragging
along a golden skeleton;[103][104] the Autumn/Winter 2002
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious collection was shown with live caged wolves and
a black parachute cape inspired by Tim Burton;[105][106] the Autumn/Winter 2003
Scanners was presented in a snowy wasteland setting with models walking along a
wind tunnel;[107][108] and the Autumn 2004 show was a re-enactment of dance scenes
from Sydney Pollack's film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, choreographed for the
show by Michael Clark.[109] For the spring 2005 It's Only a Game collection, he
presented a human chess game, and his autumn 2006 show The Widows of Culloden,
featured a life-sized illusion of Kate Moss, an English supermodel, dressed in
yards of rippling fabric.[110]

McQueen also became known for using skulls in his designs. A scarf bearing the
skull motif, which first appeared in the Irere Spring/Summer collection of 2003,
became a celebrity must-have and was copied around the world.[4]
Although McQueen had incorporated menswear into many of his previous catwalk shows,
for example Spring/Summer '98, it was only in 2004 that a separate menswear
collection was introduced with his first menswear runway show in Milan's menswear
event.[111] He was named GQ magazine's Designer of the Year in 2004.[112]

Camilla Belle in a dress by McQueen (Spring/Summer 2009), listed among "100 Best
Dresses of the Decade" by InStyle magazine[113]
In 2007, McQueen dedicated his Spring 2008 collection, La Dame Bleue, to Isabella
Blow, who had died by suicide earlier that year. The show included works by his
long-time collaborator Philip Treacy, another protégé of Blow. The collection had a
bird theme and featured brightly coloured clothes with feathers.[114][115]

McQueen produced a well-received collection, The Girl Who Lived in the Tree, for
Autumn/Winter 2008. It was based on a story McQueen created about a feral girl who
lived in a tree but transformed into a princess and married a prince to become a
queen. He took inspiration from the queens of England and the British Raj and
Empire to create a romantic and regal collection.[116][117] The first half of the
show focused on dark decorative dresses over petticoats, which became lighter and
more lavish in the second half.[118]

The Spring/Summer 2009 collection, Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection, was

inspired by Charles Darwin who was the 'creator' of the theory of natural
selection, and the influence of the industrial revolution on nature. It was
presented on a runway filled with taxidermied animals.[119] The show presented
structured clothes that featured prints with images of natural materials, as well
as crystal-encrusted bodysuits and bell jar-shaped dresses.[120][121]

In 2009, McQueen also collaborated with dancer Sylvie Guillem, director Robert
Lepage and choreographer Russell Maliphant, designing the wardrobe for the theatre
show "Eonnagata", which premiered at Sadler's Wells in London.[122]

Plato's Atlantis

Dress and leggings from Plato's Atlantis. Replica armadillo shoes and head-dress by
Michael Schmidt (2021)
Alexander McQueen's last appearance on a fashion show was in Plato's Atlantis,
presented during Paris Fashion Week on 6 October 2009. This Spring/Summer 2010
collection was inspired by nature and the post-human manifesto featuring 46 full
looks depicted with sea creature and reptile prints. McQueen installed two large
cameras on the runway, both of which moved back and forth, documenting and
broadcasting the entire show live on SHOWstudio. Plato's Atlantis was the first
fashion show by any designer to be streamed live over the internet,[74] although
the website streaming it crashed after Lady Gaga tweeted about the show before it
started.[123]

The show began with a video of Raquel Zimmerman lying naked on sand with snakes on
her body. The fashion show and the collection addresses Charles Darwin's theory of
evolution as well as current global warming issues. The fantasy collection, named
after Plato's island that sank into the sea, envisaged a future where humans are
forced to evolve from living on land to living in water in order to survive. The
colour scheme changed during the show from green and brown (land) to blue and aqua
(ocean). The models exhibited an androgynous look (which represents McQueen's
evolutionary themes), as well as possessing post-human characteristics. The prints
shifted from reptilian to prints of water creatures such as jellyfish and
stingrays. The collection's final silhouettes gave the models marine features while
the McQueen's signature armadillo shoe also transformed the appearance of the
models' anatomic foot. Plato's Atlantis was yet another way in which McQueen fused
fashion with technology.[124][125] The finale of the show was accompanied by the
debut of Lady Gaga's single "Bad Romance".[126]

Final show

Last works by McQueen, Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 collection. Displayed at the Savage

Beauty exhibition
At the time of Alexander McQueen's death, he had 16 pieces that were eighty-percent
finished for his Autumn/Winter collection. These outfits were completed by his
design team, and shown in seven presentations to small groups of a specially
invited audience.[127] This collection, unofficially titled Angels and Demons, was
first shown during Paris Fashion Week on 8 March 2010, to a select handful of
fashion editors in a mirrored, gilded salon at the 18th-century Hôtel de Clermont-
Tonnerre.[128][129] Some fashion editors said the show was hard to watch because it
showed how McQueen was obsessed with the afterlife.[130]

The clothes presented had a medieval and religious look. Basic colours that were
repetitively used were red, gold and silver with detailed embroidery. The last
outfit presented had a coat made of gold feathers (shown left). His models were
accessorised to show his love for theatrical imagery. "Each piece is unique, as was
he", McQueen's fashion house said in a statement that was released with the
collection.

After company owner Gucci confirmed that the brand would continue, McQueen's long-
time assistant Sarah Burton was named as the new creative director of Alexander
McQueen in May 2010.[131] In September 2010, Burton presented her first womenswear
collection in Paris.[132]

Accomplishments

A dress from The Horn of Plenty, autumn/winter 2009–10 collection

Some of McQueen's accomplishments included being one of the youngest designers to
achieve the title "British Designer of the Year", which he won four times between
1996 and 2003;[17] he was also appointed a CBE and named International Designer of
the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers in 2003.[133]

McQueen has been credited with bringing drama and extravagance to the catwalk.[4]
He used new technology and innovation to add a different twist to his shows and
often shocked and surprised audiences. The silhouettes that he created have been
credited with adding a sense of fantasy and rebellion to fashion.[4]

Company

McQueen boutique in London (2013)

December 2000 saw a new partnership for McQueen, with the Gucci Group acquiring 51%
of his company and McQueen's serving as Creative Director.[8] Plans for expansion
included the opening of stores in London, Milan and New York, and the launch of his
perfumes Kingdom and, most recently, My Queen. In 2005, McQueen collaborated with
Puma to create a special line of trainers for the shoe brand.[134] In 2006 he
launched McQ, a younger, more renegade lower-priced line for men and women.[135]
Among his most popular design is the skull scarf first created in 2003.[136]

By the end of 2007, Alexander McQueen had boutiques in London, New York, Los
Angeles, Milan and Las Vegas. Celebrity patrons, including Nicole Kidman, Penélope
Cruz, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Rihanna, Monica Brown and J-pop queens, such as
Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, and Koda Kumi, have frequently been spotted wearing
McQueen clothing to events.[137] The number of McQueen stores worldwide had
increased to 100 by the end of 2020, with revenues estimated to be €500m in 2020.
[138]
McQueen became one of several designers to participate in MAC's promotion of
cosmetic releases created by fashion designers. The collection was released on 11
October 2007 and reflected the looks used on the Autumn/Winter McQueen catwalk
created by make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury. The inspiration for the collection was
the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor movie Cleopatra, and thus the models sported intense
blue, green, and teal eyes with strong black liner extended Ancient Egyptian–style.
McQueen handpicked the makeup.

Deliverance, 2004
Collections
Main article: List of Alexander McQueen collections
During his career, McQueen designed 36 womenswear collections under his eponymous
fashion label, including his graduate school collection and his unfinished final
collection. In his earlier collections, he sometimes presented menswear or had male
models walk in the shows, but his label did not have a regular menswear line until
2004.[139][140]

Butterfly print dress, Spring–Summer 2008

Womenswear mainline catwalk collections:
1992 Graduate Collection – Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims[141]
Autumn/Winter 1993 – Taxi Driver[141]
Spring/Summer 1994 – Nihilism[142]
Autumn/Winter 1994 – Banshee[142]
Spring/Summer 1995 – The Birds[143]
Autumn/Winter 1995 – Highland Rape[144]
Spring/Summer 1996 – The Hunger[145]
Autumn/Winter 1996 – Dante[146]
Spring/Summer 1997 – Bellmer La Poupee[147]
Autumn/Winter 1997 – It's A Jungle Out There[148]
Spring/Summer 1998 – Untitled (originally The Golden Shower)[149]
Autumn/Winter 1998 – Joan[150]
Spring/Summer 1999 – No. 13[151]
Autumn/Winter 1999 – The Overlook[145]
Spring/Summer 2000 – Eye[145]
Autumn/Winter 2000 – Eshu[152]
Spring/Summer 2001 – Voss[153]
Autumn/Winter 2001 – What A Merry-Go-Round[154]
Spring/Summer 2002 – The Dance of the Twisted Bull[155]
Autumn/Winter 2002 – Supercalifragilistic[155]
Spring/Summer 2003 – Irere[156]
Autumn/Winter 2003 – Scanners[156]
Spring/Summer 2004 – Deliverance[157]
Autumn/Winter 2004 – Pantheon ad Lucem"[157]
Spring/Summer 2005 – It's Only a Game[158]
Autumn/Winter 2005 – The Man Who Knew Too Much[158]
Spring/Summer 2006 – Neptune[159]
Autumn/Winter 2006 – The Widows of Culloden[159]
Spring/Summer 2007 – Sarabande[160]
Autumn/Winter 2007 – In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692[160]
Spring/Summer 2008 – La Dame Bleue[161]
Autumn/Winter 2008 – The Girl Who Lived in the Tree[161]
Spring/Summer 2009 – Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection[162]
Autumn/Winter 2009 – The Horn of Plenty[162]
Spring/Summer 2010 – Plato's Atlantis[163]
Autumn/Winter 2010 – Angels & Demons[164]
Popular culture
The Alexander McQueen-designed bell dress from Björk's "Who Is It" music video
McQueen created custom designs for music artists David Bowie and Björk, which were
used in their album covers and tours.[64][65] Lady Gaga wore several McQueen
designs, including the final outfit from Plato's Atlantis, in her video for "Bad
Romance".[165][126]

A leather costume designed by McQueen was worn by Janet Jackson in her halftime
show at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, which created a controversy when her breast was
briefly exposed in an incident described by Justin Timberlake as a "wardrobe
malfunction".[166]

Personal life
McQueen was openly gay and said he realised his sexual orientation when he was six
years old.[167] He told his family when he was 18 and, after a rocky period, they
accepted it.[8] He described coming out at a young age by saying, "I was sure of
myself and my sexuality and I've got nothing to hide. I went straight from my
mother's womb onto the gay parade".[168] Later in life, he revealed to his family
that he had been sexually abused by his brother-in-law when he was young.[169]

In 2000, McQueen had a marriage ceremony with his partner George Forsyth, a
documentary filmmaker, on a yacht in Ibiza.[170] Kate Moss and Annabelle Neilson
were bridesmaids.[171] The marriage was not official, as same-sex marriage in Spain
was not legal at that time. The relationship ended a year later, with the two
maintaining a close friendship.[172]

McQueen was HIV positive.[173]

McQueen was an avid scuba diver and used his passion as a source of inspiration in
his designs, including spring 2010's "Plato's Atlantis". Much of his diving was
done around the Maldives.[174]

McQueen received press attention after the May 2007 suicide of magazine editor
Isabella Blow. Rumours were published that there was a rift between McQueen and
Blow at the time of her death, focusing on McQueen's under-appreciation of Blow.
[175] McQueen denied these rumours.[110]

Death and memorial

On 3 February 2010, McQueen wrote on his Twitter page that his mother had died the
day before, adding: "RIP mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx." Four days later, he wrote
that he had an "awful week" but said "friends have been great", adding "now I have
to somehow pull myself together".[176]

On the morning of 11 February 2010, his housekeeper found McQueen had hanged
himself at his home in Green Street, London W1.[177] Paramedics were called and
they pronounced him dead at the scene. He was 40 years old.[1]

McQueen's headstone, Kilmuir, Isle of Skye. Carved by Pippa Westoby

Headstone back, Kilmuir, Isle of Skye. Carved by Pippa Westoby

His family was notified, and his company released a statement announcing his death:

On behalf of Lee McQueen's family, Alexander McQueen [the company] today announces
the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen
brand, has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to
comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a
sense of shock and grief with Lee's family. Lee's family has asked for privacy in
order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect
this.

— Alexander McQueen office, official Website, 11 February 2010[178]

McQueen left a note saying, "Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee."[179] The
Metropolitan Police stated that the note was not suspicious, but did not confirm
that the death was by suicide.[180] On 17 February 2010, Westminster Coroner's
Court was told that a post-mortem examination found that McQueen's death was due to
asphyxiation and hanging. The inquest was adjourned until 28 April 2010, when his
death was officially recorded as suicide.[181][182] The coroner, Paul Knapman,
reported finding "a significant level of cocaine, sleeping pills, and
tranquillisers in the blood samples taken after the designer's death."[183]

David LaChapelle, a friend of the designer, said that McQueen "was doing a lot of
drugs and was very unhappy" at the time of his death.[184] Stephen Pereira,
McQueen's psychiatrist, said he had mixed anxiety and depressive disorder for at
least three years and had twice taken drug overdoses as "cries for help".[185] He
had taken drug overdoses in May and July 2009.[186] Pereira also said that McQueen
had repeatedly missed psychiatric sessions, adding that there had been "enormous
difficulty in getting him to personally, physically come to appointments."[186]

On 18 February 2010, Robert Polet, the president and chief executive of the Gucci
Group, announced that the Alexander McQueen business would carry on without its
founder and creative director.[187] McQueen's funeral took place on 25 February
2010 at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, West London.[188] His ashes were later
scattered in Skye at Kilmuir.[189] His Skye ancestry had been a strong influence in
his life and work.[190]

A memorial was held for McQueen at St. Paul's Cathedral on 20 September 2010. It
was attended by 2,500 invited guests, including Björk, Kate Moss, Sarah Jessica
Parker, Naomi Campbell, Stella McCartney, Daphne Guinness, Sam Taylor-Johnson,
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lady Gaga and Anna Wintour.[191][192] Björk, a close friend
of McQueen's, performed a version of "Gloomy Sunday" while dressed in a gown he had
designed.[193]

Legacy and tributes

A dedication by a fan at an Alexander McQueen store after McQueen's death

The BBC reported that McQueen had reserved £50,000 of his wealth for his pet dogs
so they could live in luxury for the rest of their lives. He also bequeathed
£100,000 each to four charities; these include the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in
South London, and the Blue Cross animal welfare charity in Burford, Oxfordshire.
[194]

On 16 February 2010, pop musician and friend Lady Gaga performed an acoustic, jazz
rendition of her hit single "Telephone" and segued into "Dance in the Dark" at the
2010 Brit Awards. During the performance, Gaga paid tribute to McQueen, by
dedicating a song to him.[195] She also commemorated McQueen after accepting her
award for Best International Artist, Best International Female, and Best
International Album. Gaga dedicated a song to him, titled "Fashion of His Love", on
the special edition of her third album, Born This Way.[196] R&B singer Monica
dedicated her 2010 music video "Everything To Me" to McQueen.[197] Various other
musicians, who were friends and collaborators with McQueen, paid tribute following
his death, including Kanye West, Courtney Love, and Katy Perry.[198]

In March 2010, celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Annabelle
Neilson paid visual tribute to McQueen by wearing his distinctive 'manta' dresses.
[199] The 'manta' dresses, inspired by a scuba-diving holiday McQueen took to the
Maldives in 2009,[199] came from McQueen's 'Plato's Atlantis' collection of Spring–
Summer 2010 which was at the time available to purchase. 'Manta' dresses had been
worn by celebrities such as Daphne Guinness, Noot Seear, Anna Paquin, and Lily Cole
prior to his death, and following the announcement that he had died, remaining
stocks sold out despite prices starting at £2,800.[199]

In 2012, McQueen was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter
Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork—the Beatles' Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover—to celebrate the British cultural
figures of his life that he most admires.[200] McQueen is also given homage in the
popular MMO World of Warcraft. There is an NPC dedicated to Alexander McQueen that
is a Tailoring Trainer named Alexandra McQueen. This trainer is also the only one
on the horde side that gives a special quest Cloth Scavenging.[201] A dress
designed by McQueen featured on a commemorative UK postage stamp issued by the
Royal Mail in 2012 celebrating Great British Fashion.[202]

In 2016, a conceptual art piece made by Tina Gorjanc highlighted the possibility
for corporations to copyright another human's DNA. She created a series out of pig
leather tanned and tattooed to appear similar to McQueen's skin. She filed patents
for her method of replicating McQueen's skin in the lab, and displayed these
patents along with the leather collection. McQueen's family stated that they did
not condone the use of his DNA for fashion projects but acknowledged that this
project is exactly the sort of fashion experimentation he would have enjoyed.[203]
[204]

Museum exhibitions
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City hosted a posthumous exhibition of
McQueen's work in 2011 titled Savage Beauty. The exhibition's elaborate staging
includes unique architectural finishes and soundtracks for each room.[205] Despite
being open for only three months, it was one of the most popular exhibitions in the
museum's history.[206] The exhibition was so successful that Alexander McQueen fans
and industry professionals worldwide began rallying at Change.org to "Please Make
Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty a Traveling Exhibition" to bring honour to
McQueen and see his vision become a reality: to share his work with the entire
world.[207] The exhibition then appeared in London's Victoria & Albert Museum
between 14 March and 2 August 2015. It sold over 480,000 tickets, making it the
most popular exhibition ever staged at that museum.[208]

A second exhibition, Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, was staged at the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Victoria in 2022. A
version of this exhibition was also produced at the Musée national des beaux-arts
du Québec in 2023 under the name Lee Alexander McQueen: l'art rencontre la mode. It
juxtaposed McQueen's designs with art and objects from the museum's collection to
explore how McQueen's body of work drew from diverse sources across art history.
[209][210]

In media
McQueen has been the subject of several books, both biographical and photographic.
[211] The first major biography was Blood Beneath the Skin (2015) by author Andrew
Wilson.[212] Gods and Kings (2015) by fashion journalist Dana Thomas discusses his
life and work in conjunction with John Galliano, another controversial British
designer of the 1990s.[213]

In February 2015, on the fifth anniversary of McQueen's death, the James Phillips
play McQueen premiered. The play is set over one night in London and follows a girl
who breaks into the designer's home to steal a dress and is caught by McQueen. The
production takes inspiration from his imaginative runway shows and was directed by
John Caird. It has been described by McQueen's sister Janet as "true to his
spirit".[214] Stephen Wight and Dianna Agron played the leading roles.

In 2016, it was announced that Jack O'Connell would play McQueen in a biographical
film based on Blood Beneath the Skin. English filmmaker Andrew Haigh was slated to
direct.[215] In 2017, both O'Connell and Haigh stated that they were no longer
involved in the project.[216]

On 8 June 2018, the documentary McQueen, written and directed by Ian Bonhôte and
Peter Ettedgui, was released in the UK. It was described by Harper's Bazaar as
"among the most accurate, sensitive, and moving. Using his collections as
cornerstones, the documentary features candid interviews with colleagues, friends
and even family of McQueen, who was known as Lee to the people he loved."[217] The
film was favourably reviewed, earning a score of 84 on the critical aggregator
website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim",[218] as well as a 99% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes, with a Critics Consensus reading, "McQueen offers an intimate,
well-sourced, and overall moving look at a young life and brilliant career that
were tragically cut short."[219