A tribute to british fashion designer alexander mcqueen who died on february 11, finds its way in our love issue because we love that he dared to redefine 'normal'

Au00a0tribute to British fashion designer Alexander McQueen who died on February 11, finds its way in our love issue because we love that he dared to redefine 'normal'

For the madly creative, dying young is an honour. Seriously. It's about how a dramatic existence can trail into an equally shocking exit. Despite his love to shock, as was evident from most ramp shows, British fashion designer Alexander McQueen didn't need an ego massage in death.

He was extremely close to his mother, Joyce, and was unable to deal with her recent death. Depressed and alone, he hung himself in his u00c2u00a32million Mayfair apartment on February 11, the same day his mother was put to rest.

McQuirky, as he was famously called by fashion editors, bowled style followers with limitless interpretations; he was even accused of offending women by designing impossibly tight corsets and skyscraper heels. But beneath the idiosyncrasy of ideas, lay immaculate design sense and tailoring.

"I loved the sculptural quality his clothes carried. He is the only designer who could cut a jacket in 13 different ways," says Kolkata fashion designer Kallol Datta.

>Impossible heels
Reportedly, supermodels Abbey Lee Kershaw, Sasha Pivovarova, and Natasha Poly all declined to wear the McQueen's Spring 2010 Alien 10' heels. International pop singer Lady Gaga wears the pair in her video Bad Romance. Termed as "monstrous creations", the shoes are considered so unique that they are protected by copyright.

>Bizarre headgear
Known for her fascination for hats, fashion editor Isabella Blow played a significant role in shaping McQueen's initial career. She purchased his 1992 Jack the Ripper graduation collection, adopting him as one of her protu00c3u00a9gu00c3u00a9s. He carried forward his reverence for Blow by incorporating bold and kooky headgears in most of his shows. For his New York Fashion Week show on February 11, he had planned a a ghostly white ship headgear, recalls milliner Philip Treacy.

>Issue based sets
The sassy bunny standing hands crossed amid animal props and an army of models, is McQueen himself (pic below). Called the Dark Star of International Fashion by International Herald Tribune fashion editor Suzy Menkes, the English designer often raised social issues in his big-budget productions, while his silhouettes and sets followed the cause. His Paris Fashion Week Spring 2009 ready-to-wear runway show was applauded as much for the sophisticated clothes and intricacy of workmanship, use of digital technology as for its fragile ecology narrative.

>Socks with sandals
Wearing socks with floaters is common in college campuses. McQueen gave it an aesthetic designer spin when he sent male models wearing his take on formal sandals teamed with socks, down the ramp. The other highlight of the Spring 2009 show was the emancipation of male silhouettes from clean-cut monogamy. He married them with feminine styles like corsets.

>India inspiration
McQueen's Fall 2008 line-up heralded British-colonial romance, with lush red and velvet jackets, empire-line saris bedecked with antique Indian tiaras, and diamond neckpieces.

The mankini hits Milan catwalks! The biggest trend to emerge out of McQueen's Spring/Summer 2009 show was inspired by the unsightly neon green V-shaped version worn by Sacha Borat Cohen inu00a0 controversial Hollywood movie, Borat. It was a brave move that once again pushed the boundaries of conventional ideas, and left a quiet testimony of his the designer's ongoing battle with weight.