Alexander McQueen

Born in the East End and the son of a taxi driver, McQueen started as an apprentice in Savile Row at the age of 16, where he made suits for Prince Charles.He was famously first discovered as a designer in the 90s by Isabella Blow, the style guru and fashion director of Tatler, who died in May 2007.She bought all the clothes he made for his graduate show for £5,000, McQueen delivered them to her in black binliners.With his ultra-short hair and Doc Marten boots and his penchant for shock tactics in his early catwalk shows, he was initially the 'enfant terrible' of the fashion world.There was a stir when he was made head designer at Givenchy in 1996, succeeding John Galliano..His hugely successful career brought him numerous awards, including British designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003 and the International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. He received an CBE in 2003. He will be sadly missed.