Alexander McQueen

This British designer, born in 1969 and dead on February 11, 2010, left school at the age of sixteen to work as an apprentice for famous bespoke tailors Anderson & Shepard, and later Gieves & Hawkes, in London’s famous Savile Row. Driven by a passion for creating sartorial models, he moved on to the theatrical tailors Angels and Bermans in order to perfect and continue his research. Mc Queen next entered the fashion world, starting out with Koji Tatsuno in Paris and moving on to Romeo Gigli in Milan in 1993. One year later he returned to London to conclude his studies at the Central St. Martin College. By then Alexander had already made a name for himself, debuting with a collection in the 1992 London Fashion Week, a series of striking clothes packed with both punk inspiration and some classic traits, like his impeccable suit crossed by the printed motif of tyre tread on asphalt. Like all beginnings, his wasn’t easy, but fortunately he had talent to spare. Alexander’s images constantly swing between the ancient and modern, a nostalgia for the past, a unique combination of the traditional and contemporary. The designer took over from John Galliano as head of Givenchy Haute Couture in 1997, yet somehow, yet even though the appointment initially appeared to offer ideal opportunities for further experimentation, it turned out to be a false move and Alexander returned to working on his own.

www.alexandermcqueen.com