Known for sewing a provocative quote into lining of a suit for the Prince of Wales, Alexander McQueen was the rebellious British designer who made a significant impact on fashion history.
However, his time was cut short when he was found dead on Feb. 11 in his apartment in London. McQueen committed suicide by hanging himself.
The reasons are still hazy, though the media believes it is a direct result of the death of his mother, who died on Feb. 2. The London Evening Standard reported that his Twitter page said, "i'm letting my followers know the my mother passed away yesterday if it she had not me nor would you RIP mumx."
His death is a huge loss for the entire fashion world. His designs have impacted society and everyday fashion wear.
He started off with an apprenticeship on Savile Row in London, a high honor and impressive starting point for any designer. Savile Row in known as the "gold mile of tailoring" where customers such as Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson and Napoleon III have shopped. It was on Savile Row where he worked for the tailors Anderson & Sheppard before moving to Gieves & Hawkes.
However, it wasn't until he was in master's school that his collection of pieces became noticed.
His style was rather exotic, dark and brutal, though uniquely beautiful in a rather unusual light. His models were depicted as battered woman who had been abused, wearing dark red lipstick completely overlapping their lips and making them look almost bloody and beaten up while wearing ragged clothing.
A New York Times article written shortly after McQueen's death said his clothing used futuristic tones "with designs that combined soft draping with molding, or ones in which a dress seemed to morph into a coat. At his last show, in October, the models wore platform shoes that looked like the hulls of ships."
His designs that were sometimes perplexing, from a tight neon bodysuit to a design with pointy shoulders and bold futuristic zig-zagged lines that contrasted in its aspects — dress, purse and shoes. Everything added up to perfect unity and an aesthetically pleasing, yet still gothic, look.
McQueen is the person we have to thank for the skinny jean look. He first introduced the tight-fitting leggings and jeans.
One memorable and striking moment of McQueen's career was when he had a model come onstage in a glass box with butterflies inside. You couldn't even see the model because of the flying butterflies.
He was known for designing the lobster claw heels that Lady Gaga wore for her "Bad Romance" music video, and, even more notably, he was famous for Michelle Obama stepping out her J. Crew and small designer comfort zone to wear a piece from his collection. Rohin Guha wrote in an article for Blackbook Magazine that McQueen designed the cover art for Bjork's album "Homogenic," as well as directed her "Alarm Call" music video.
He was named the British Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council four times and was named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2003.
I find it interesting that the people who appear to have everything are often the ones who commit suicide. The people who put on a smile day in and day out, produce genius creations of art, gain success and recognition and make millions of dollars — those are the people who take their own lives. Maybe that says something about how much pressure success has on a person.
You look at many of the geniuses in American history — from actress Judy Garland dying of a drug overdose, writer Hunter S. Thompson shooting himself in the head and journalist David Foster Wallace hanging himself — all these people were living legends who had it all. They threw it all away right when the world thought they were at the peak of their success.
Maybe society should realize that happiness doesn't always come from success, fame or money. Depression, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses are at large, conquering their victims, while the world obliviously only looks at their creations. It's time people start taking notice of other human beings' feelings.
In the end, it is up to the people with the illness to battle their problems, but it might help if there had been a listening ear along the battle lines.
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