Alexander McQueen

One designer who has made an imprint in the way I perceive fashion is Alexander McQueen. He was British designer and pioneer in the world of fashion. I admire the way McQueen worked his way up from nothing. He was the youngest of six children having left school at 16 with very few qualifications he gained an apprenticeship at the prestigious Saville Row tailors Anderson and Shepphard, then at Gieves and Hawkes. By the age of 20 McQueen was working and studying under very well-known designers in Milan. He then returned to England to complete a master’s degree at Central St Martins. Alexander McQueen burst onto the fashion scene in the mid-nineties, he transformed the way the rest of the world viewed British Fashion, not many people realise just how much he influenced high street fashion, effectively making catwalk designs widely available. This is just one of the many reasons Alexander McQueen has influenced me. It shows no matter what as long as you’ve got the drive and determination anything is possible. Now it that high fashion was no longer a thing just for the rich elite. In less than 10 years McQueen became one of the most respected fashion designers in the world. By 1996 he was appointed the chief designer of French label Givenchy where he worked until March 2001. Alexander McQueen sadly took his own life in February of this year however many of McQueen’s trademark items are still being replicated on the high street today, he took something as simple as a skull and created a trend that is being followed by celebrities as well as the everyday man. Alexander McQueen began right at the bottom and worked his way up in the fashion world without any prior training or formal education, his designs and creative genius will continue to influence my work and many designers to come.