Acclaimed Brit fashion designer found dead

LONDON – His runway shows were often like performance pieces: One featured models with headwear made of trash. Another showed off 10-inch heels shaped like lobster claws.

At the pinnacle of his success, British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead in his home on Thursday, days after posting anguished online remarks about the death of his mother. He was 40.The circumstances pointed to suicide. The Sun tabloid cited an anonymous source on its Web site who said workers found McQueen hanging in his apartment.McQueen is credited with helping revive the once-moribund British fashion industry. His edgy pieces were coveted and treasured by stylish women across the globe and seen on numerous red carpets.Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour called McQueen ‘one of the greatest talents of his generation’.’He brought a uniquely British sense of daring and aesthetic fearlessness to the global stage of fashion. In such a short career, Alexander McQueen’s influence was astonishing – from street style, to music culture and the world’s museums,’ she said in a statement. McQueen did not design for celebrities, but they flocked to him for the sheer audacity of his creations, which were instantly recognisable for being dramatic, exquisitely tailored and oh-so sexy.A stunning dress for Sandra Bullock? A special order for Madonna? Something special for Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell? All these feats seemed easy for the quiet, slim, bearded Englishman who shunned publicity and laughed off the limelight.Lady Gaga recently made waves when she wore McQueen’s spring 2010 lobster-claw shoes in her ‘Bad Romance’ music video.PRESSURE OF GENIUSMcQueen’s mother died on February 2. Some fashion experts speculated his mood may have also been clouded by pressure to outdo himself again next month at his catwalk show in Paris.’If you are a genius, the pressure to be a genius is always immense,’ said Imogen Edwards-Jones, author of ‘Fashion Babylon’, a novel on the untidy underside of the industry.McQueen helped spark a renaissance in London fashion, helping to revive it after the long-dormant period that followed the punk explosion in the 1970s.He was also responsible for one of history’s most famous ‘wardrobe malfunctions’. He designed Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl outfit, which fell open while she was singing, revealing one of her breasts.In the usually glad-handing fashion world, McQueen was known as a private man who shunned the limelight. He turned down most interview requests and did not cultivate a cult of personality or try do develop an air of mystery about his work.McQueen, a trim, handsome man with startling grey-blue eyes, had an easy smile, but did not linger in the camera’s glare.’In a world where every man and his dog is a designer, Alexander McQueen was the real deal,’ said celebrated hat maker Philip Treacy. ‘His talent was supersonic.’McQueen made his name first in London, then wooed audiences in Paris, New York and Milan to take his place in the upper echelons of the designing world. He was named British Fashion Designer of the Year four times, and was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, when she made him a Commander of the British Empire for his fashion leadership.’McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs,’ said Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue.BEGINNINGSHal Rubenstein, a fashion director for InStyle magazine said McQueen was a master of integration of technology into fashion. ‘He changed the way so many of us see shows.’McQueen was the youngest of six children born to a taxi driver and a teacher. He received his early fashion training at the Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design, long recognised for its fashion-forward approach and encouragement of Britain’s talented young designers.His runway shows were always a highlight during the Paris ready-to-wear fashion week.One of his previous collections included a show built around the concept of recycling, with models donning extravagant headwear made out of trash. His last collection, shown in October in Paris, featured elaborate and highly structured cocktail dresses. Critics raved. – Nampa-AP