LIM College

The first day of Fashion Week was already off to a bitter start, what with the “Blizzard of 2010” taking place one day prior. Editors, stylists, and celebrities were gearing up for what would surely be a grueling day. No one was expecting to receive the disturbing news about to pour in from across the pond: Forty year-old British fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, had hanged himself in his London apartment. Even as I type this, I find my fingers hesitating over the keys, unsure of how to articulate what a profound loss this is for not only the fashion industry, but the art world as a whole.

 A large portion of my first semester at LIM College was spent researching McQueen and his career for a class project. I admit now that a part of me fell in love with not only the exquisite designs, but the beautiful mind of the designer himself. To simply look at McQueen’s contributions to fashion was to be transported to a different time, a different universe. His was the mind of a dreamer, someone who may have found it hard to exist happily in this business where creativity is eclipsed by supply-and-demand. That same melancholy, gothic beauty embodied by his collections now perfectly describes McQueen himself, and his creations will undoubtedly be the torch that carries on his extraordinary legacy for decades to come.

- Alexander Chanell

Further Reading

Alexander McQueen slideshow - New York Magazine

New York Times Obituary

Wikipedia discussion of McQueen's career