Alexander McQueen was born on March 1969 in the east end of London and died of suicide in February 2010.  In 1994 he got a job at London’s most prestigious fashion school, Central Saint Martins working as a pattern cutter tutor.  Due to his outstanding portfolio he was persuaded by the head of the master’s course to enrol as a student.  He then went on to receive a master’s degree in fashion design.  In 1996 McQueen became head designer for Givenchy, succeeding John Galliano.  He stayed with Givenchy until 2001, when the contract he said was constraining his creativity.  Alexander won the British Designer of the Year four times during 1996 and 2003.  He has boutiques in New York, London, Los Angeles, Milan and Las Vegas.  His early runway collections developed his reputation for controversy and shock tactics.  For example a collection he entitled ‘highland rape’.  McQueen is also known for his lavish, unconventional runway shows, such as a recreation of a shipwreck for his spring summer 2003 collection, spring summer 2005’s Human Chess Game and his fall 2006 line, widows of Culloden, which featured a life-sized hologram of supermodel Kate Moss, dressed in yards of rippling fabric.

His spring summer 2010 collection was surprising and overwhelming.  There was sparkling illuminated runway in which two sinister, robotic movie cameras on gigantic black booms ran back and forth, while a screen played knight’s video of Raquel Zimmermann, lying on sand, naked, with snakes writhing across her body.  Then the models came out.  There were short, reptile-patterned, digitally printed dresses, nipped waists and belled skirts.  Colours- green and brown at first then moved onto blue and aqua.  There were trousers whose bulbons flanks mimicked the skin of sharks and dolphins.  Each dress was a work of computer generated art crossbred with Alexander’s couture based signature cut. 
Alexander McQueen has set a standard where he has moved fashion into the future, into a new age and he will always be remembered for this and so many other collections.