Alexander McQueen's Death Shocks Fashion World

LONDON Feb. 11, 2010 — -- Shock hit the international fashion world today as news of British designer Alexander McQueen's apparent suicide circled the globe, the same day fashion week kicked off in New York.

McQueen, 40, was found dead at his home in west London this morning. Scotland Yard is not treating the death as suspicious, but early reports of a suicide have not been confirmed by police.

"We are devastated and in shock," said Samantha Garrett, the communications director for the Alexander McQueen fashion house.

The designer's death comes on the heels of the Feb. 2 passing of his mother, Joyce. McQueen was scheduled to show a new collection in Paris early next month.

McQueen was beloved at the highest levels of fashion as the "enfant terrible" or "anarchist designer" of the industry. He was internationally acclaimed for both his clothes as well as his cutting edge fashion shows, considered by many to be performance art year after year.

His fall 2009 "Witches Collection" was based on the Salem witch trials, and featured models in black wearing smudged lipstick and fantastical headpieces. In 1998, he caused controversy when he sent a double amputee down the catwalk with wooden legs.

"This world I live in, this fashion world, is so unrelated to what's going on around the world," he told the BBC at the time, "So what I try to do is to take parts of the world people in my world don't want to see and bring it to them."

Fashion insiders loved McQueen for his irreverent attitude.

"His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashions shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over," said Alexandra Shulman, editor of British VOGUE. "His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn't."

McQueen was favored by some of the most famous names in the fashion world, including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Sarah Jessica Parker. More recently, he dressed Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Bjork and Madonna. McQueen's studded, impossibly high "alien boots" almost steal the show in Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video.

He influenced everyday wear as well, introducing low-waisted "bumster" jeans which quickly became a ubiquitous trend.