I was going to pen a Valentine’s Day post and wax lyrical about love, romance and all that jazz, yet I have been sitting here most of the day and night glued to SKY News and Twitter watching the facts unfold about the untimely death of one of Britain’s most loved, most respected and without a doubt, most talented fashion designers.  If the truth be told I am pretty devastated at the death of Lee McQueen, better know as the creator of the fashion label Alexander McQueen, as are my colleagues and peers; most of which at some point or another in our careers were honoured to work with him and many inspired and influenced by his work. On a personal note we were fashion design students around the same time and I worked with him on the very first line he created for PUMA in 2006. I still relish and frequently admire this first collection of sporty and slightly strange looking trainers that sit within my shoe collection, untouched, never worn (white and silver, would you want to ruin them?)  but much loved. In latter days I had the pleasure of working with his team for the McQueen boutique at Bicester Village. It opened just over a year ago and has been ram raided on a daily basis by myself and the rest of the office ever since.       

Lee Alexander McQueen was a man who was loved for numerous reasons and respected by a myriad of people – personally and professionally.

In true form, we must be able to feel love to feel loss, and love in its true sense I believe to be a recipe of adoration and respect. Listening to the tributes pouring in, Lee Alexander McQueen was a man who was loved for numerous reasons and respected by a myriad of people – personally and professionally. The fashion world has lost a great artist whose talent went beyond the realms of legendary. He admired and appreciated renowned designers that went before him and he passed his wisdom and learnings onto others. As he said of Yves Saint Laurent: “To me, fashion should predict the time we live in. He did this in the 1960s and 1970s. Pure genius, and a man that I always revered and tried to emulate.”  Is it any wonder that McQueen went on to become a great designer? McQueen’s raw energy and intriguing perspective made him one of the greatest talents of our time.      

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue sums it up for me. “Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern-day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn’t.”      

What I loved about McQueen was his ability to delight, excite and create ingenious and unique designs. In under a decade he achieved enormous success becoming one of the most highly respected fashion designers in the world. From being a trainee Saville Row tailor, to a position at Gieves & Hawkes, to Chief Designer at Givenchy and Creative Director at Gucci, and the inception of his own label, he was awarded the title of British Designer of the Year four times, and received an acclaimed CBE. But it is the collections from his Alexander McQueen and McQ labels that he is most famous for and which have influenced a generation of aspiring designers.      

His Spring/Summer 2010 collection was a breathtaking spectacle of perfection, serving up rare and sparkling creations of pure genius

McQueen SS10 picture courtesy of style.com

His Spring/Summer 2010 collection was a breathtaking spectacle of perfection, serving up rare and sparkling creations of pure genius. Who else would dare (aside from Ms Westwood) put a pair of 12 inch alien style platforms down the runway?  I’m uncertain if I have seen anyone other than Daphne Guinness wear these, and she managed it so effortlessly and looked so chic, a feat that is not at all easy but very daring. And daring is what McQueen was all about.      

In his most recent SS2010 show he shocked us; he made us gasp with delight with a sneak peek of what he believed the future of fashion could look like. He was if nothing but optimistic, and his carefully crafted designs and intricate lifelike fabrics sent shockwaves through the industry. Is it befitting that even in death he has shocked us?  As sad and as devastating that this is, his demise has, like his creations and his talents, made us gasp. The loss of Lee Alexander McQueen will leave a huge gaping hole in the fashion industry and we will remember him for his wonderful take on fashion. I hope that in some form, the House of McQueen will live on.      

As his fellow designer and peer Matthew Williamson said today.” Like many others, I always cited him as a hugely inspirational leader of world fashion – he was a genius and his talent was second to none”. How could anyone not agree.    

It is with sadness though that I try not to think “why”? Phillip Treacy explains that “Creativity is a very fragile thing, and Lee was very fragile. He was a fragile person with a front of whatever you want to call it. It’s not easy being Mr. McQueen”.     

I dedicate this Valentine’s Day post to the legendary Alexander McQueen. A man whose talent we loved, whose designs we treasured and who became a British fashion icon that we will always cherish. He will be missed.