A Tragic End to a Brilliant Career: Goodbye to McQueen

AllyG: We’ve said numerous times (mostly as a disclaimer to our opinion pieces on various collections and designs) that we have no real experience in the fashion industry. We’re just huge fans. This is why we are struggling with a way to properly provide a tribute to Alexander McQueen who passed away at the age of 40 yesterday. We thought the best way to do so was to link you to some beautiful tributes from those who had direct links to the designer. Like Anna Wintour for example who released the following statement,

“We are devastated to learn of the death of Alexander 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. His passing marks an insurmountable loss.”

Before providing those links, I will say this, McQueen was one of the few designers that made fashion approachable. He continually bucked trends, and the system for that matter. He made everyday people like myself and L-A feel as though we could be a part of a seemingly impenetrable industry. My fave from McQueen? His take on what I affectionately call the tutu dress” (that I’ve gone on about at length in the past):

Source From McQueen’s S2010RTW

L-A: I was no McQueen fan girl. In fact, there were a lot of times when I didn’t like what he was up to. Spring/Summer 2010 was one of those times. Those cocoon pod shoes drove me crazy. But that was the thing about McQueen: he got a reaction.

source:  Spring 2008 & Fall 2008

And I think that’s what made him an artist. It’s what made me really dig McQueen. I mean, just go look at Fall 2008. It is dress porn. I love it.

Heck, I took a picture of his store in LA just to say “I was near McQueen designs” (I couldn’t go in because my mom could barely walk – she broke her toe kicking my husband. True story).

The loss of Lee McQueen is made all the sadder because it was so tragic.  I’ve been diagnosed with depression and it breaks my heart to think of how low you must be feeling to take your own life.

Anyway, here are the links to what others had to say. They say it better than we did.

Vogue London’s tribute in photos…

Fashion Magazine remembers McQueen in this beautiful post…

A tribute from List Tant of Flare…

And from Tim Blanks of Vogue.

So long Lee McQueen. We tip our oversized butterfly hats off to you.