Alexander McQueen — The House & Its Designers

1992

Stratford to Savile Row.

Lee Alexander McQueen was the youngest of six, the son of a London cab driver. He left school at sixteen and apprenticed himself to Anderson & Sheppard on Savile Row — the most traditional tailoring house in the world. He cut his own clothes; he reputedly stitched a swear-word into the lining of a suit destined for Prince Charles. He left Savile Row to study at Central Saint Martins, where his MA graduate collection (1992) was bought outright by the stylist Isabella Blow.

1996 — 2001

Givenchy.

LVMH appointed McQueen creative director of Givenchy in 1996 — at 27, a year after Galliano. The five years at Givenchy were difficult; the maison's couture clientele was uncomfortable with his aggressive aesthetic. He used the platform to fund his own label, which by 2000 had become more important than Givenchy. He left in 2001.

2010

Death.

Lee McQueen took his own life on February 11, 2010, nine days after his mother's death. He was forty. The maison's Fall 2010 collection — which he had been working on at the time of his death — was shown posthumously in a private salon presentation. Sarah Burton, his right hand for thirteen years, was named creative director.

2010 — 2023

Sarah Burton.

Burton spent thirteen years stewarding McQueen's legacy with quiet rigour. She designed Kate Middleton's wedding dress in 2011. She continued the maison's couture-level craft. The Heroine (2014), The Curve, the Skull Box clutch — all her era. She left in 2023 for Givenchy.

Alexander McQueenThe House & Its Designers

The House

Stratford to Savile Row.

Givenchy.

Death.

Sarah Burton.

The Designers

Lee Alexander McQueen

Sarah Burton

Spring 2012 Ready To Wear

Spring 2019 Ready To Wear

Spring 2023 Ready To Wear

Seán McGirr

Fall 2024 Ready To Wear

The Bags

Skull Box Clutch

Heroine

The Story

De Manta Clutch

The Bow

Padlock

Solo

Knuckle Box Clutch

8 at a glance.