From The TimesFebruary 12, 2010 Alexander McQueen: The Times obituaryHis tastes were eclectic. He had an apparently effortless ability to move between the low culture of the ³bumster´ trouser, via outrageous confections which envisaged envisioned women metamorphosing into reptiles, to essays in haute couture that pointed to his early apprenticeship in pattern cutting . He, and demonstrated that when he wanted to, AlexanderMcQueen could drape the female form with consummate art and grace. Without this capacity and a fundamental understanding of what he was doing that was grounded in an apprenticeship in Savile Row, he could never have enjoyed the careers he did at Givenchy and Gucci, notwithstanding that his work at both houses was always prone to break their mould when his rebellious streak got the better of him. Like his mentor, the fashion journalist and stylist Isabella Blow, (obituary May 8, 2007), who discovered him and bought his entire St Martin¶s graduation show in 1995, McQueen plucked his inspiration from many sources and was able to turn it into designs that (more often than not) worked in practice and often did so in a way that made an ineradicable impression. Without this capacity and a fundamental understanding of what he was doing, which was grounded in an apprenticeship in Engilsh tailoring company Savile Row, he could neverhave enjoyed the careers he did at Givenchy and Gucci (notwithstanding that his work at both houses was always prone to break their mould when his rebellious streak got the better of him). He was born Lee McQueen in 1969, the son of a cab driver in the East End of London. He grew up in a council house and was educated at Rokeby Comprehensive School for Boys. McQueen had, as a boy, announced his determination to become a fashion designer and set out to demonstrate the seriousness of his intentions by making dresses for his three sisters. Leaving school at 16 he entered into an apprenticeship with the Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, moving from there to Gieves & Hawkes, which had made its reputation generations before as tailors to the Armed Forces. It was thus a thorough grounding in the most fundamental, most conservative principles of clothing design. While in Savile Row McQueen found himself working on garments for such clients as the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the Prince of Wales. He next worked for the theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans. At the age of 20 he worked for a time with the Japanese designer Koji Tatsuno before deciding that an immersion in Italian fashion would be beneficial. He went to Milan where he worked for some time for Romeo Gigli, whose elaborate draping and beading left an impression on him. Returning to London, he applied for a job as a tutor in pattern cutting at St Martin¶s College of Art and Design. This is the often unsung task in the rag trade that translates the vision of the designer into something practical that the industry can run up.
