Lee Alexander McQueen was born in Lewisham in on March 17, 1969.

He completed a tailoring course at Newham College, then later received a Masters degree in Fashion at Saint Martins College of Art and Design. He founded the fashion label, Alexander McQueen, in 1992. The label would go on to be highly established, as well as cause quite few controversies over collections. in the early years, the brand developed a reputation of controversy and shock-factor.

McQueen himself was highly established as well, having won British Designer of the Year four times from 1996-2003.  He worked with various celebrities including David Bowie, Björk, and Lady Gaga. He also worked as the chief designer for Givenchy for five years.

He ended up committing suicide in February of 2010. At the time, he was mourning the passing of his mother and it was revealed that he had struggled with drug abuse.

His final designs were shown in March of the same year during Paris Fashion Week. Gucci, the owner company, announced that the brand would continue. 

Photo courtesy of Flickr and Flickr.