Alexander McQueen: A Fashion Icon's Journey

Lee Alexander McQueen (Alexander McQueen for short) was born on March 17, 1969 in Lewisham, London. He passed away on February 11, 2010 in Mayfair, London. His mom Joyce McQueen was a social science instructor and his father Ronald was a Scottish cab driver. Out of 6 kids, McQueen was the youngest. McQueen attended Carpenters Road Primary School. He began making dresses for his more youthful siblings at a young age. He then recognized he desired to end up being a designer.

McQueen later on went to Rokeby School, which he left in 1985 at the age of 16.

He was used an apprenticeship at Saville Row customizes Anderson and Shepherd and then offered an apprenticeship at Gieves and Hawkes, both masters in the technical building and construction of clothes. From there he moved to Angels and Bermans where he mastered 6 approaches of pattern cutting from the melodramatic 16th Century to the extremely sharp customizing which has ended up being a McQueen signature.

By the age of 20, He was employed by the designer Koji Tatsuno, who likewise had his roots in British customizing.

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A year later McQueen traveled to Milan where he was used as Romeo Gigli's design assistant. When McQueen went back to London, he finished a Masters degree in style at Central Saint Martin's. He showed his MA collection in 1992, which was famously bought in its whole by Isabella Blow. In less than ten years McQueen became one of the most well respected fashion designers in the world. In October 1996 McQueen was selected as Chief Designer at the French Haute Couture Home Givenchy where he worked until March of 2001.

Alexander McQueen's collections are known for both the psychological power and raw energy of his programs along with the romantic however determinedly modern nature of his clothing. It is typical of McQueen to utilize the nearness between contrasting elements; fragility and strength, tradition and modernity and fluidity and severity. A freely emotional and even passionate viewpoint is realized with an extensive respect and influence for the arts and crafts tradition. Alexander McQueen's collections integrate in-depth working knowledge of British tailoring, the great workmanship of the French Haute Couture and the impressive finish of Italian manufacturing.

Alexander McQueen's collections for Givenchy have included golden eagles embroidered by Lesage, rose petals pressed into sheer organdie, pure gold material woven for a bolero jacket, feathers painstakingly layered like a bird's wing onto a cat suit and other unique weird styles. He has managed to continue to design in his funky, youthful modern manner at his own house of McQueen while also producing the elegant, expensive, beautiful creations at Givenchy.

Bibliography

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McQueen
2. http://influentialdesigners.weebly.com/alexander-mcqueen.html
3. http://fashiondesigners.about.com/od/Couture-Fashion/a/Alexander-Mcqueen-The-Life-And-Times.htm