Fashion Icons Encyclopedia. Alexander McQueen.

The misunderstanding of those who are ahead of their time befell Alexander McQueen. Or it could be that, like other generation colleagues such as playwright Sarah Kane (1971-1999) and artist Damien Hirst (1965), being born in the 1970s and growing up under Thatcherism inspired him to take a bold, rebellious, irreverent, and unique stance against the system.

He dropped out of school in 1985, at the age of sixteen, to work as an apprentice at Anderson & Sheppard, one of Savile Row's most prestigious tailors. Lee Alexander moved to Milan for a brief amount of time to work under the orders of designer RomeoGigli after working there for more than two years and attending various workshops.

His first post-graduation collection, Taxi Driver, was released in the fall-winter of 1993-1994. However, it wasn't until his fifth collection, Highland Rape, that controversy began to follow him–and with it, the media's attention–a scandal that has followed him till his most recent fashion displays. Britpop and British art were in full swing in the mid-1990s, courtesy to the Young British Artists. In the world of fashion, McQueen ushered in a comparable transformation. For a long period, the designer avoided appearing in the press, his name remained a mystery, and his social life was severely constrained. However, his name remained well-known, and he was named creative director of Givenchy, an LVMH brand, in 1996, succeeding John Galliano, who went on to become the creative director of Dior.

McQueen will design two annual Haute Couture and two ready-to-wear collections for the house for the following four and a half years. His heart was still in his own brand, despite the brilliance of his designs.

McQueen sells 51 percent of his company to the Kering group in December 2000, leaving Givenchy to focus on his own line. Lee Alexander married his lover, George Forsyth, in Ibiza in the summer of the same year. The event, which was staged in complete secrecy, was attended by Kate Moss, another of her great muses and friends. Isabella Blow, her great mentor, however, committed suicide in her London residence in May 2007.

Alexander refuses to comment on this issue, but pays homage to her in the best way he knows in the collection. The title of the Spring / Summer 2008 show is dedicated to La Dame Bleue. It will probably be another death that causes himself. On February 2, 2010, Alexander's mother, Joyce McQueen, died. A week later, on February 11, the 40-year-old Briton decided to live his life a few days before the Paris Fashion Week show. Shortly after his death, Mett in New York dedicated his retrospective "Savage Beauty" to him. Also premiered is the documentary McQueen, a lifelong portrait of a genius, directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui.