McQueen is dead, long live McQueen

His madness was divinest sense to a discerning eye.

Lee Alexander McQueen, the man Anna Wintour described as “one of the greatest talents of his generation,” was found dead in his London home earlier today at the age of 40. The New York show for his secondary label, McQ, originally scheduled for today, was canceled at once. The cause of death remains unannounced and it is not for PCR to speculate, only to echo what Ms Wintour said:

“In such a short career, Alexander McQueen’s influence was astonishing — from street style, to music culture and the world’s museums. His passing marks an insurmountable loss.”

His shocking designs were known for their brilliant, vivid colors and bold cuts. He was equally as famous for his runway shows, which were often more performance pieces than your standard catwalk affair, and he brought a fearlessness to the scene which London fashion desperately needed. Love them or hate them, there is no doubt that McQueen’s work had an impossible to ignore effect on the fashion industry. Known to some as l’enfant terrible of fashion, the vibrancy of his pieces and his relentless push toward the cutting edge and beyond was tinged with a rich romanticism that made it easy to see why his work was favored by the celebrities who sought him out. The best known of these is perhaps Lady Gaga, who debuted her single “Bad Romance” at his Spring 2010 show in New York last fall.

Lately, he was only growing more famous, his career a seemingly constant ascent to brighter and greater things. His presence will be missed and his contributions to fashion never forgotten.

See McQueen’s work in action:

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