As of noon today, two flower bouquets sat in front of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen's store on Melrose Avenue. While his name wasn't at the forefront of pop culture talk, his work was (think Gucci, among many other fashion trends seen worn by stars). The Washington Post today gives good sense of that in the opening of his obituary:
The death of designer Alexander McQueen strikes at the fashion industry's creative core, not because he had the most lucrative business or because he launched the greatest number of trends that trickled down to suburban malls. Instead, McQueen represented the kind of volatile imagination that transforms clothes into a cultural tapestry, intensely personal therapy and political provocation.
The 40-year-old was found dead today in his London home. It's an apparent suicide, which may have been foreshadowed on Twitter in recent days. Fore example, one of his last tweets was "HELLS ANGLES & PROLIFIC DEAMONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He also announced the death of his mother on Twitter last week.
The skulls seen covering his store are part of his latest line of clothing.
