Alexander The Great

Picture this….. Fall-winter 2006, the crowd is all set to witness a master designer’s creations aptly themed “Widows of Culloden”. With much anticipation and later appreciation you watch the show and lo and behold out of nowhere you see a mythical figure floating on the ramp and suddenly you start believing in the supreme, magical powers. You are jerked out of your reverie when you notice the face of the 3D hologram-like figurine and you do nothing but gasp, murmur, or simply stare as too mesmerised to speak. “Kate Moss” – isn’t she caught up in the cocaine scandal?? You think!!!  And right then it dawns upon you and out of sheer respect you stand and just let go of the ovation. You realize that this “enfant terrible” of the fashion world has more to his personality than just being a designer par excellence. Alexander McQueen, ladies and gentlemen, is every bit as magnificent a friend as a designer. And what an end to a perfect show, he cements his solidarity to model and friend Kate Moss (who couldn’t be present herself but was there “virtually”), by wearing a “We love you Kate” t-shirt during the walk-out. Now all those detractors’ comments on him not showing enough gratitude to his patron and promoter Isabella Blow can take a cue from here and die a silent death.

Hailing from the East side of London, this son of a taxi driver had all the trappings of being a fashion designer when he started dressing up his three sisters. Following an apprenticeship with Savile Row tailors, he completed his Masters in Fashion from the prestigious Central Saint Martins College in London and thus launched an extremely successful career in the world of fashion. Starting from his graduation collection till date, McQueen has bent every rule in his way and is known for his unconventional and controversial interpretation of fashion, clean cuts and crisp tailoring. He has shown with every passing season that he is here to rule and rule he does, in his own way though. Being “ahead of his times” in more ways than one, he is the youngest designer to be awarded the “British designer of the year”, which he won three times between 1996 and 2003, apart from being honoured with the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2003.