Alexander McQueen CBE (born Lee Alexander McQueen, 17 March 1969) is an English fashion designer. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Brief introduction on the history of fashion design and designers Fashion design is the art dedicated to the creation of wearing apparel and lifestyle. ...

Biography

Born in the East End of London, the son of a taxi driver, McQueen started making dresses for his three sisters at a young age and announced his intention of becoming a fashion designer. The East End of London, known locally as the East End, is an area, with no formal authority or boundaries, that spans a number of administative districts of London in England. ... In the United Kingdom, the name hackney carriage refers to a taxicab licensed by the Public Carriage Office in London (for the area within the M25 motorway) or by the local authority (non-metropolitan district councils or unitary authorities) in other parts of England, Wales, and Scotland, or by the...

Career

McQueen left school at 16, landing himself an apprenticeship with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, then working for Gieves & Hawkes and the famous theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans. Whilst on Savile Row, McQueen's clients included Mikhail Gorbachev and Charles, Prince of Wales. At the age of 20, he spent a period of time working for Koji Tatsuno before traveling to Milan, Italy and working for Romeo Gigli. Savile Row Savile Row Savile Row is a road in the City of Westminster in central London that runs parallel to Regent Street between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. ... Anderson & Sheppardhas been a leading Savile Row firm from its beginnings in 1906. ... Gieves & Hawkes is a well-known tailor based in Savile Row, London. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: ), surname more accurately romanized as Gorbachyov; (born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George[2]; born 14 November 1948), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ...

McQueen returned to London in 1994 and applied to London's most prestigious fashion school, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design to work as a pattern cutter tutor. Due to the strength of his portfolio he was persuaded by the Head of the Masters course to enroll on the course as a student. He received his Masters degree in Fashion design and famously, his graduation collection was bought in its entirety by influential fashion stylist Isabella Blow, who was said to have persuaded McQueen to change his name from Lee to Alexander (his middle name) when he subsequently launched his fashion career. Central Saint Martins - Southampton Row, Holborn Central Saint Martins (ex-St Martins) in Charing Cross Road. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Fashion design is the applied art dedicated to the design of clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. ... Isabella Blow, May 2007 Isabella Blow (née Isabella Delves Broughton, 19 November 1958 – 6 May 2007)[1][2] was a British magazine editor and international style icon. ...

Design history

McQueen's early runway collections developed his reputation for controversy and shock tactics (earning the title "enfant terrible" and "the hooligan of English fashion"), with trousers aptly named "bumsters", and a collection entitled "Highland Rape". It has also been claimed that he was on income support and that he needed to change his name for his first show so that he could continue to receive benefits. An enfant terrible, from the French meaning terrible child, is one whose startlingly unconventional behavior, work, or thought embarrasses or disturbs others. ... Germanic trousers of the 4th century found in the Thorsberg moor, Germany Early use of trousers in France: a sans-culotte by Louis-Léopold Boilly. ... Welfare is financial assistance paid by taxpayers to groups of people who are unable to support themselves, and determined to be able to function more effectively with financial assistance. ...

Givenchy appointment

The president of LVMH, Bernard Arnault caused a stir when he instated McQueen as head designer at Givenchy in 1996, succeeding John Galliano. Upon arrival at Givenchy, McQueen had the nerve to insult the founder by calling him ‘irrelevant’. Thus, his first couture collection with Givenchy was unsatisfactory, with even McQueen telling Vogue in October 1997 that the collection was “crap”. McQueen toned down his act at Givenchy, but continued to indulge his rebellious streak, causing controversy in Autumn 1998 with a show which included car-robots spraying paint over white cotton dresses, and double amputee model Aimee Mullins striding down the catwalk on intricately carved wooden legs. McQueen stayed with Givenchy until March 2001, when the contract he said was "constraining his creativity" was ended. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A. (Euronext: MC), usually shortened to LVMH, is a French holding company and the worlds largest luxury goods conglomerate. ... Bernard Arnault (born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman. ... Givenchy (pronounced ) is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics. ... John Galliano CBE (born January 28, 1960, in Gibraltar) is a British - Gibraltarian fashion designer. ... Aimee Mullins (b. ...

Accomplishments

Some of Alexander McQueen's accomplishments include being one of the youngest designers to achieve the title "British Designer of the Year", which he won three times between 1996 and 2003. He has also been awarded the CBE, as well as being named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. December 2000 saw a new partnership for McQueen with Gucci Group acquiring 51% of the company, and McQueen serving as Creative Director. Plans for expansion have included the opening of stores in London, Milan, and New York, and the launch of his perfumes Kingdom, and more recently My Queen. In 2005, McQueen collaborated with PUMA to create a special line of sneakers for the shoe brand. The British Fashion Awards is a ceremony held annually in the United Kingdom to present awards to those who have made the most outstanding contributions to British fashion during the year. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Guccio Gucci and Gucci, accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Species P. concolor P. yagouaroundi Puma is a Felidae genus that contains the Cougar (also known as the Puma, among other names) and the Jaguarundi. ...

Personal life

In the summer of 2000, McQueen married his twenty-four-year-old lover George Forsyth, a documentary filmmaker. The ceremony, which took place in Ibiza on a yacht owned by a friend of supermodel Kate Moss (who was also bridesmaid), was covered by the press in much the same way as any other celebrity wedding.^[1] Ibiza (Catalan: Eivissa) is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to Spain. ... Not to be confused with Kate Mosse. ...

Company

Alexander McQueen by the end of 2006 had boutiques in London, Paris, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Milan, Rome, Nice, Cannes, Manchester (UK), Athens, Moscow, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Jakarta, Bangkok, and Taipei.

References

1. ^ 24 February, 2001, Alexander McQueen: Fashion king, BBC. Retrieved on 14 April, 2007

The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ...

External links

• Alexander McQueen's home page
• Alexander McQueen's McQ home page
• Alexander McQueen's biography
• Alexander McQueen 's jacket pattern