CB suggested I do this story, so let’s see if I can get through it without crying. Last year, fashion designer Alexander McQueen committed suicide. It was a devastating tragedy, and his friends, coworkers and family are still picking up the pieces after his death. McQueen’s will has just been made public, and it turns out that McQueen had gotten all of his affairs in order before his suicide, including making financial arrangements for the charities closest to his heart, as well as making sure his dogs would be taken care of. He left about $26 million to animal charities, plus $82,000 in a trust to whoever took care of his dogs. It’s said that his dogs were one of the last concerns McQueen had, and his suicide note consisted of “Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee.” Yeah. I’m crying.

His puppies: Minter, a mongrel; Juice, an English bull terrier; and Callum, a Rhodesian ridgeback. The charities: Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and The Blue Cross, both charities that work with finding animals a home. He also donated money to the London Buddhist Center and his own Sarabande charity – he requested that Sarbande create scholarships and grants for design students. He also left 50,000 pounds each to his two housekeepers, and made arrangements for his godson, nieces, nephews and his three sisters and two brothers.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are some never-before-released photos of Kate Middleton as a child and as a student at St. Andrews. The Middleton family just released them – Kate was a cute kid, and the photos remind me a lot of the photos of Princess Diana’s childhood too. Both seemed like super-normal young girls who grew up to be princesses. You can see more photos of Kate here, at the Mail.

Anyway, the big news this morning is that Our Little Waity might have gone all “high fashion” and chosen an avant-garde designer for her wedding gown. For the past two months, the only designer name that has gotten any kind of traction is Bruce Oldfield, who many believe is designing gowns for Waity’s bridal party, including her mother and her sister Pippa. I believed that Kate would have chosen someone like Oldfield for her gown too – he’s established, he’s boring, and he won’t rock any boats. BUT – over the weekend, The Telegraph (not a tabloid) reported that Waity might have chosen Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen for her gown. Burton has been head designer for McQueen ever since McQueen committed suicide last year, and Burton has followed in McQueen’s established, avant-garde footsteps with the collection. If Kate chose Burton for McQueen, that would be amazing… but I have my doubts. A spokesperson for the House of McQueen tells Us Weekly that “it’s not true” but The Telegraph claims it’s still on:

It is the most coveted fashion commission of the century: the chance to design the wedding dress worn by Kate Middleton. But the British fashion house Alexander McQueen was desperately denying having won the prized assignment last night as fevered speculation mounted that the dress would be designed by its new creative director, Sarah Burton.

Fashion sources said yesterday that the design of the dress would be a combination of Miss Middleton’s own ideas and Mrs Burton’s quirky interpretation of high fashion.

Work on the royal wedding dress is said to be under way inside Buckingham Palace, but Miss Middleton is determined that details of the design must be kept in the strictest confidence, and her chosen couturier has been sworn to secrecy.

Mrs Burton, who took over as creative director of the fashion label following the suicide of Alexander McQueen last year, strenuously denied having won the commission. But sources said the 36-year-old had been chosen for the discretion afforded by her relatively low profile, as well as for her alternative take on elegance. If confirmed, the selection of one of Britain’s edgiest labels will be seen as a fresh attempt by Miss Middleton to develop her own unique style after drawing criticism in some quarters for her “conservative” dress sense.

The Daily Telegraph reported in December that Miss Middleton’s wedding dress was already being created inside Buckingham Palace by a little known British designer who would be catapulted into the limelight when her identity was revealed. Mrs Burton became McQueen’s right hand woman after joining his label as an intern in 1996.

She presented her first womenswear collection without him at Paris Fashion Week shortly after his suicide in October last year – drawing praise for infusing her mentor’s unique style with a new element of femininity.

Her work is said to have caught Miss Middleton’s eye when she designed an off-the-shoulder wedding dress for Sara Buys, a fashion journalist who married Tom Parker Bowles, the son of the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2005.

Despite being widely hailed as a new British style icon, Miss Middleton was criticised for her conservative dress sense by Dame Vivienne Westwood at London Fashion Week last month. The leading British designer, known for her outrageous creations, said: “I would have loved to have dressed Kate Middleton but I have to wait until she kind of catches up a bit somewhere with style.”

Mrs Burton, who is from Manchester, designed a billowing red and black dress worn by Michelle Obama to a state dinner last year and has also worked on one-off creations for celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow.

She is now putting the finishing touches to her latest collection, which she will present at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. She today denied designing the royal wedding dress.

A spokeswoman for Alexander McQueen said: “Sarah is busy working on her new collection for the Tuesday show and she was as surprised as the rest of us to hear about this. She is not designing the dress.”

Jonathan Akeroyd, chief executive of Alexander McQueen, reportedly let slip to a colleague that Mrs Burton was Miss Middleton’s chosen designer. But he last night denied that the fashion house had any involvement in the royal wedding.

“Not at all,” he said. “I am the CEO. I would know if we were doing it.”

Clarence House refused to confirm or deny reports that Mrs Burton would design the dress. A spokesman said: “We always knew that there would be a lot of speculation about the appointment of the designer. Because Catherine Middleton is keen to keep this private, we are not responding to this in any way at all. This is about the 10th one we’ve been asked about in the last three months and it’s getting a bit ridiculous.”

Bruce Oldfield, the British couture designer who created Samantha Cameron’s wedding dress and was a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales, was until yesterday considered the favourite to win the coveted commission. Daniella Issa Helayel, the Brazilian couturier who designed Miss Middleton’s engagement dress, has also been tipped as a hot favourite.

But Hilary Alexander, the Telegraph’s Fashion Director, predicted that Mrs Burton could be called upon to design the royal wedding dress in November.

She said: “If this is true it’s the best news the fashion industry has had in a long time. It is desperately in need of an injection of fabulousness in the wake of the whole John Galliano scandal.”

The royal wedding falls four days before a major McQueen retrospective opens in New York on May 4.

[From The Telegraph]

I wish Waity was this exciting and fashion-forward, but I really, really doubt she is. Her default setting is on “never offend anyone, ever.” And that’s what a McQueen dress would do – it would offend people. Also: I love that Vivienne Westwood doesn’t care. I love that she criticized Waity about fashion. Personally, I like some of Waity’s clothes, and I have to give her credit for always being dressed occasion-appropriate. BUT – the chick doesn’t have a lot of style. At least not what I’ve seen. Her “dress up” party clothes are usually just silk jersey and cheap-looking, and her “work” clothes are just simple suits. She’s boring. And boring doesn’t offend people, I guess.

Photos courtesy of The Mail & WENN.

Yesterday, 40-year-old fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead. He committed suicide by hanging. Since his death was confirmed, tributes and prayers have been offered all around the world by models, celebrities and McQueen’s fellow designers. It didn’t even occur to me that Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld (otherwise known as The Anger-Bear) would chime in on McQueen’s death, much less that Karl’s comments would be somewhat cryptically disrespectful. Karl said: “I found his work very interesting and never banal. There was always some attraction to death, his designs were sometimes dehumanised. Who knows, perhaps after flirting with death too often, death attracts you.” Um… Karl? You couldn’t just say “I’m devastated, my thoughts and prayers are with his family” or something like that? Or am I reading this the wrong way? Is the Anger-bear trying to… (gasp)… feel something? Something close to… emotional pain? Anyway, the BBC has more tributes to McQueen, and here are some of the highlights:

Celebrities and friends have paid tribute to British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, following his sudden death at the age of 40.

In a statement, Victoria Beckham said: “Today, the fashion industry has lost a true great. An icon of all time. He made all he touched beautiful and will be desperately missed. My heart is very much with his family and friends at this very sad time.”

A host of stars left their tributes on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

“Very, very sad news about Lee McQueen,” wrote singer Boy George. “He was a genius, such tragic news.”

“So, so sad. Such a huge loss. He was one of my favourite designers. He will be missed.”
Kelly Osbourne wrote: “I am so, so sad to hear the news of Lee (Alexander) McQueen! I really just don’t know what say I’m really in shock.”

Actress Kirstie Alley showed characteristic humour in her tribute: “Alexander McQueen, you made big bottomed and not-so-big bottomed girls all over the world look stunning… come back soon… give it another go.”

Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman said: “Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn’t.”

“His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs,” Ms Shulman added. “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.”

Pop star Cheryl Cole, who wore a £4,000 diaphanous McQueen dress to her 26th birthday party last year, said :”My heart goes out to Alexander’s family and friends at this unbelievably sad and tragic time. Fashion has lost one of its most talented and inspirational figures.”

Fellow singer Kelis, who was a fan of the designer’s outlandish “lobster” shoes, said “he was one of our gems”.

“His work was beautiful and will remain immortal,” the star said in a statement.

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood said she was “incredibly sorry to hear the news”.

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld said: “I found his work very interesting and never banal.
“There was always some attraction to death, his designs were sometimes dehumanised. Who knows, perhaps after flirting with death too often, death attracts you.”

Matthew Williamson said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the designer’s death.
“He was a genius and his talent was second to none. Like many others, I always cited him as a hugely inspirational leader of world fashion. He will be greatly missed.”

Fellow designer Paul Smith said he was “extremely shocked” at the news.

“I have known Lee since his time at St Martins and gave him advice in the early part of his career. He was a very talented and creative designer, especially in respect of his tailored clothing.”

[From BBC]

Karl’s comments stick out like a sore thumb, don’t they? I wonder if Karl is going to take anything away from McQueen’s death, perhaps something to add to the ever-growing List of Hate. What does Karl hate from this experience that he can add to the list? Grief? No, too bourgeois. He’ll probably add “flirting with death” and “anyone who designs banal clothes, who don’t end up killing themselves.”

Thanks to Dlisted for the heads up!

Alexander McQueen is dead at the age of 40. Most news agencies are reporting that the cause of death was suicide by hanging, although McQueen’s office only confirmed his death, not suicide: “It is a tragic loss. We are not making a comment at this time out of respect for the McQueen family.” The Daily Mail was one of the first to break the news, and they have a decent summary of his life:

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead after taking his own life. The 40-year-old committed suicide just three years after his close friend, Isabella Blow – who plucked him from obscurity and helped him become a star – killed herself.

A source at McQueen’s office this afternoon confirmed his death, saying: ‘It is a tragic loss. We are not making a comment at this time out of respect for the McQueen family.’

His death comes just days before the start of London Fashion Week and weeks before he was due to unveil his new collection at Paris Fashion Week on March 9. Born in the East End and the son of a taxi driver, McQueen got his training in tailoring in Savile Row, eventually making suits for Prince Charles, and won the distinction of being named British designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003.

He went on to be awarded the CBE, as well as being named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. McQueen became the ‘enfant terrible’ of the fashion world after he was famously discovered by Isabella Blow, who was fashion director of Tatler. She bought all the clothes he made for his graduate show for £5,000 and they were delivered to her in black binliners.

Miss Blow killed herself in May 2007 after taking an overdose of weed killer after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had attempted suicide several times by then.

McQueen was forced to deny rumours of a rift between the pair at the time of her death, saying: ‘It’s so much b******s. These people just don’t know what they’re talking about. They don’t know me. They don’t know my relationship with Isabella. It’s complete bull****. People can talk; you can ask her sisters.… That part of the industry, they should stay away from my life, or mine and Isabella’s life. What I had with Isabella was completely disassociated from fashion, beyond fashion.’

McQueen was so distraught by Isabella’s death that he dedicated his spring summer 2008 show at Paris fashion week to his late friend. The invites to the show were poster-size illustrations Richard Gray. It depicts a triumphant Blow, in a McQueen dress and a Philip Treacy headdress, in a horse-drawn carriage ascending to heaven.

Miss Blow had said: ‘My relationship with McQueen began in 1994, when I went to a Saint Martins graduate show. I couldn’t get a seat, so I sat on the stairs and I was just watching, when I suddenly thought: I really like those clothes, they are amazing. It was his first collection.’

‘It was the tailoring and the movement which initially drew me to them. I tried to get hold of him and I kept calling his mother, but he was on holiday.’

She kept saying: ‘He’s not here, he’s not here.’ She told him: ‘This crazy person is trying to get hold of you.’ I eventually got to meet him and I decided to buy the collection: I bought one thing a month and paid him £100 a week. He’d bring an outfit in a bin liner, I’d look at it and then he’d come to the cashpoint with me.’

Born Lee Alexander McQueen, the designer was the youngest of six children.

Openly gay, McQueen – who once described himself as the ‘pink sheep of the family’ – left school at 16 and went to work at Savile Row’s Anderson & Sheppard, whose clients included Prince Charles and Mikhail Gorbachev, after he saw a television program about the apprentice shortage in traditional tailoring.

He went on to work for Gieves & Hawkes, theatre’s famous Angels & Bermans costumiers, and then worked in Japan and Italy. He returned to London in 1994, hoping to work as a pattern cutter tutor at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins fashion school. Thanks to the strength of his portfolio he was persuaded to enroll in the course himself.

After graduating McQueen set up his own label based in the East End of London. With the launch of his ‘bumsters’ trousers with a waistband so low that the buttocks are revealed, McQueen made his label famous through tabloid headlines.

He went on to be named head designer at Givenchy in 1996, succeeding John Galliano, before joining forces with Gucci, who bought 51 per cent of his company

[From The Daily Mail]

Damn, this is sad. McQueen’s fashion were favored by everyone from Madonna to Kate Blanchett. He was a designer in the vein of Gianni Versace, in my opinion, where his own eccentricities and lifestyle became part of his fame and part of his popularity. If it was suicide by hanging, it makes me think that he truly, genuinely wanted to die, rather than make some kind of cry for help. So sad.

Alexander McQueen is opening a new store in Los Angeles, and needs to drum up some publicity for the grand opening. So, he’s banned Paris Hilton from the event.

McQueen said: “If she comes past the shop, hopefully she will just keep walking. I don’t really covet that sort of thing. I’m not too fond of these openings, I find them quite superficial.

“The people who wear McQueen wear it because they want to wear it, not because it’s the new thing in town.”

The designer – whose red carpet creations are favoured by Victoria Beckham, Sienna Miller, Katie Holmes and Lucy Liu – also says he wanted his close friend Amy Winehouse to perform at the star-studded opening, but fears she will unable to travel to America.

McQueen is quoted by Los Angeles Times newspaper as saying: “I wanted Amy to come over and perform but she is having visa problems. I have asked another huge star to sing, but I can’t say who!”

New Zealand Herald

Seems ironic that McQueen will crow about having big name stars at his event, but ban Paris for being associated with things superficial. What is more superficial than expensive clothes? She has only been told not to come to the opening, from the sounds of it. She’s perfectly welcome to come back later, spend some money and bring more publicity to the store, I suspect.

If Alexander McQueen was really not into the openings, he’d probably just, uh, open the shop. With clothes in it, and some sales ladies. Is a grand opening obligatory? Does the Los Angeles City Council shut you down if you don’t serve canapes and champagne?

I guess us common folk won’t be too welcome in Alexander McQueen’s new store either. It seems strange to me to worry about who is wearing your clothes –shouldn’t you just want your stuff to sell?

Read the full interview with McQueen here. Paris also has launched her own line of shoes in Montreal, specializing in shoes that look cute on large feet. Paris herself is a size 11.