Alexander McQueen dead at 40

Celebrated British fashion icon and designer to the stars, Alexander McQueen was found dead at his London home on February 11, 2010.

The Star reported that McQueen's communications director Samantha Garrett confirmed the devastating news but refused to comment further out of respect to his family. Already, there have been speculations that McQueen had committed suicide, including Britain’s Sun newspaper putting out a yet-unsubstantiated report that McQueen hanged himself in his luxury apartment.

The son of a taxi driver, Alexander McQueen (whose first name is Lee) was born in 1969 as the youngest of six children. He left school at age 16 but before he turned 30, he had already become one of the most respected fashion designers in the world.

It is recalled that McQueen’s mother, Joyce, died a week ago and the designer’s Twitter posts mirrored how upset he had been.

A notice on his web site reportedly said: “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.”

The provocative designer’s death comes just days before the start of the London Fashion Week. McQueen was also reportedly set to unveil his new collection at the Paris Fashion Week on March 9.

On overview of McQueen’s journey to fashion greatness:

After he left school at 16, he was offered an apprenticeship at the traditional Saville Row tailors Anderson and Shephard, then at neighbouring Gieves and Hawkes.

At 20, he was employed by the designer Koji Tatsuno.

A year later, he was working as a design assistant to Romeo Gigli in Milan.

He returned to London in 1994 where he later earned his master's degree in fashion design at Central St. Martins College. His degree collection was famously bought in its entirety by English magazine editor and international style icon, Isabella Blow. McQueen would come to be regarded as her protégé. Blow, whose husband said she suffered from depression, committed suicide in May 2007 by reportedly ingesting the weedkiller Paraquat.

Appointed chief designer at French label Givenchy in October 1996, succeeding John Galliano. Despite feeling “creative constraints,” he worked there until March 2001.

In December 2000, he became the creative director for the luxury brand Gucci, which acquired 51% of his company, Alexander McQueen. This partnership hatched plans for expansion, including flagship stores in London, Milan and New York, as well as the launch of his perfumes Kingdom and, more recently, My Queen.

In 2005, McQueen collaborated with Puma to create a special line of trainers for the shoe brand.

Branching out, McQueen became the first designer to participate in MAC’s new campaign featuring cosmetic releases created by fashion designers. McQueen, as his collection was called, was released in October 2007 reflecting the looks used in his Autumn/Winter collection previewed on the catwalk.

By the end of 2007, Alexander McQueen had boutiques in New York, London, Los Angeles and Milan.

By July 2008, his company’s website launched the Alexander McQueen Internet store where shoppers can purchase ready-to-wear and accessories online.

McQueen was a four-time winner of the British designer of the year award as well as the international designer of the year award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was awarded the CBE in 2003.