Alexander McQueen, 37, the enfant terrible of fashion, has come a long way from his humble East End roots. Despite growing up in a tough, impoverished area of London, McQueen has gone on to become one of the world’s most famous designers.

Background information
McQueen, whose real name is ... read moreLee - Alexander is his middle moniker - always knew he wanted to be a fashion designer. From the age of three, he doodled and daydreamed about designing show-stopping dresses. While at school, the maverick McQueen eschewed study in favour of swotting up on designers and teaching himself all about the industry’s key players. Such dedication eventually led to an apprenticeship, at the age of 16, on London’s esteemed Savile Row, which is where he honed and perfected his stellar talent for tailoring. From the bespoke world of sleek suiting, McQueen went on to work for a theatrical costume company, which enabled him to break free from the confines of men’s tailoring and indulge in his passion for bold, dramatic clothing. McQueen then moved to Milan, where he assisted Romeo Gigli, one of fashion’s big players during the 1980s, before returning to London and knuckling down to a fashion degree at Central Saint Martins.

Courting drama
Like all wannabe designers, McQueen yearned for a big break, and that came when his dramatic final-year collection was snapped up by Isabella Blow, the style guru who also ’discovered’ John Galliano, Philip Treacy and Sophie Dahl. To ensure his name continued to be on the lips of every influential style pundit, McQueen carried on producing clothes and collections that shocked. Whether it was courtesy of his ’bumster’ trousers, pyrotechnics on the catwalk or models with prosthetic limbs, McQueen’s work positively dripped drama.

Givinchy and Gucci
In 1996 the French couture house Givenchy hired him in order to inject the label with some sartorial oomph. Although McQueen was fairly unhappy there, he stuck it out for four years. In 2000 he returned to London in order to concentrate on his own eponymous label. By then the initial hype around the ’bad boy’ designer had turned to full-on respect, and by the end of the year Gucci had bought the controlling stake in the Alexander McQueen empire. As a result, the skilled tailor-turned-designer had the financial backing he needed and so relocated to Paris, where he still shows his collections twice yearly.

Four years on, McQueen has pals such as Kate Moss calling him and has the world at his feet. He has won numerous Designer Of The Year gongs, been awarded a CBE for his services to fashion and boasts boutiques in London, New York, Tokyo and Milan. His clothes still draw gasps, but nowadays this tends to be for their exquisite workmanship as opposed to their ability to shock.

It’s fair to say that Alexander McQueen, that most bold and brave pioneer of cutting-edge fashion, has definitely become fashion royalty...