of kering euronext pp industry fashion founded 1992 founder alexander mcqueen headquarters london united kingdom key people jonathan akeroyd ceo sarah burton creative director pina ferlisi mcq design director owner kering website www.alexandermcqueen.com alexander mcqueen is a british luxury fashion house founded by designer alexander mcqueen in 1992 . its current creative director is sarah burton . 1 contents 1 history 2 mcq 3 collaborations 4 controversies 5 post lee alexander mcqueen through today 6 ownership and shareholdings 7 creative directors 8 retail stores 8.1 other department stores 9 list of alexander mcqueen collections 10 references 11 external links history edit an alexander mcqueen dress from his last show on display at the victoria and albert museum london in 2009 . a display from savage beauty a retrospective of alexander mcqueen designs at the metropolitan museum of art new york city 2011 . alexander mcqueen brand was founded by designer alexander mcqueen in 1992 . 2 it was the suggestion of isabella blow that mcqueen use his middle name for the label . 3 the house s early collections developed its reputation for controversy and shock tactics earning the title l enfant terrible and the hooligan of english fashion with trousers aptly named bumsters and a collection entitled highland rape . 4 5 alexander mcqueen staged lavish and unconventional runway shows such as a recreation of a shipwreck for his spring 2003 collection spring 2005 s human chess game and the fall 2006 show widows of culloden which featured a life sized hologram of supermodel kate moss dressed in yards of rippling fabric . 6 in total mcqueen designed 36 collections for his london label including his ma graduate collection . 7 during his time as head designer mcqueen was awarded the title british designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003 ; 8 he was also awarded the cbe and named international designer of the year by the council of fashion designers in 2003 . 9 in december 2000 the gucci group acquired 51 % of his company and appointed him as creative director 10 before launching stores in london 11 milan 12 new york 13 los angeles 14 and las vegas . on 31 october 2011 alexander mcqueen opened its first store in beijing with a runway show . 15 following the take over the brand s catwalk presentations were relocated from london to paris beginning with the spring summer 2002 collection with the dance of the twisted bull on 6 october 2001 . 16 alexander mcqueen launched its first menswear collection in spring summer 2005 17 and continues to show its collections during milan fashion week . the company launched its first women s pre spring collection on the runway with its men s collection on 22 june 2008 18 and has since continued releasing cruise collections since spring 2010 . 19 alexander mcqueen launched an online store in the us in 2008 . 20 this was later expanded with an online store for the uk market in 2010 . 21 mcqueen s suicide was announced on the afternoon of 11 february 2010 . 22 at the time of his death the company had debts of 32 million 23 24 despite posting profits from handbag sales in 2008 . 25 alexander mcqueen brand dress 2011 . mcq edit on 27 july 2006 the company launched a lower priced diffusion line mcq . 26 the new line carries men s and women s ready to wear and accessories was exclusively designed by lee alexander mcqueen manufactured and distributed worldwide by sinv spa under the terms of a five year licence agreement with alexander mcqueen . 27 promoted as a denim line the focus of mcq is a youthful target market . 28 the spring summer 2011 was the final collection in collaboration with sinv spa . pina ferlisi was appointed as the creative director for the line in june 2010 . 29 following the expiration of the contract with sinv spa with the spring summer 2011 collection the brand announced on 11 october 2010 that it would take control of the mcq diffusion line by creating a new internal team with the creative direction of pina ferlisi under the leadership of alexander mcqueen creative director sarah burton . 30 31 for the first campaign for the re acquired line photographer niall o brien collaborated with mcq by driving across the american northwest capturing images which evoked the mcq attitude . 32 in august 2011 the company announced it would launch its first mcq standalone boutique in london in 2012 . 33 in november 2011 it announced that mcq would be presented at london fashion week for the first time in february 2012 and that the new four storey georgian townhouse boutique will stock womenswear menswear and accessories . 34 collaborations edit between 1996 to 2001 alexander mcqueen collaborated with jeweller shaun leane on bespoke jewellery pieces for the catwalk presentations . 35 36 in january 2003 alexander mcqueen collaborated with perfumer jacques cavallier 37 to launch his first fragrance kingdom which was launched on the designer s birthday 17 march . 38 a limited edition version of the fragrance was launched in 2004 . 39 the company launched its second fragrance my queen three years later in 2006 . 40 on 10 october 2003 alexander mcqueen collaborated with michael clark to stage the spring 2004 collection . 41 on 15 october 2003 alexander mcqueen collaborated with bj rk at fashion rocks where the fall 2003 collection was presented at the royal albert hall . 42 43 in 2004 alexander mcqueen collaborated with safilo via a licensing deal to launch an eyewear range . 44 45 the 2010 collection featured the house s trademark skull detail . 46 the same year the company collaborated with american express to launch a limited edition version of its ultra exclusive centurion card . 47 the card is available by invitation only to amex platinum card members . 48 to launch the card mcqueen hosted a retrospective of his collections from 1995 till fall 2003 . 49 in 2005 alexander mcqueen collaborated with puma to produce a line of men s and women s footwear launched in spring 2006 . 50 the alexander mcqueen puma line is founded on the union of tradition and technology with juxtaposing influences . 51 in 2008 the line s fall 2009 collection was fully expanded to include men s and women s clothing and accessories 52 with a collaboration with film director saam farahmand to produce a 4 minute movie ghost as an ad campaign for the collection . 53 54 in 2007 alexander mcqueen became the first brand to participate in mac s promotion of cosmetic releases created by fashion designers . 55 the collection was released on 11 october and reflected the looks used on the autumn winter mcqueen catwalk . the inspiration for the collection was the elizabeth taylor movie cleopatra and thus the models sported intense blue green and teal eyes with strong black liner extended egyptian style . 56 in 2008 alexander mcqueen collaborated with mass market retailer target as mcq alexander mcqueen for target . 57 the company was the first collaboration between target and an international designer . 58 mcqueen cited leila moss of the duke spirit as his muse for the collection . 59 the collection was launched on 4 march 2009 60 with the band playing at the launch party . 61 the same year alexander mcqueen collaborated with samsonite to produce luggage formed using a mould of a human ribcage and sternum on the front and spine on the back . 62 other pieces in the collection apply animal patterns like crocodile to the bags skin using laser cutting technology . 63 with the catwalk presentations alexander mcqueen collaborated with philip treacy to produce hats for the spring 2008 collection 64 and again with the fall 2009 collection . 65 during first semester of 2009 mcqueen also collaborated with dancer sylvie guillem director robert lepage and choreographer russell maliphant designing wardrobe for theater show eonnagata directed by robert lepage . the film sylvie guillem on the edge produced by french production company a droite de la lune traces whole history of the creation of the show from first rehearsals which took place in quebec until world premiere which was held in 2008 at sadler s wells theater in london . 66 on 6 october 2009 the company collaborated with showstudio to stream its spring summer 2010 collection plato s atlantis live on the company s website . 67 68 the shoes from that collection were later featured on the showstudio website . 69 the same year the company collaborated with unkle who produced music for the mcq autumn winter 2009 collection 70 titled mcq . the collaboration was a success and was extended a second season for the mcq spring summer 2010 collection where the promotional cd was given out in a mcq press goodie bag . 71 in june 2010 visionaire magazine s 58th issue titled spirit a tribute to lee alexander mcqueen was released as a tribute to the late founder . 72 the issue featured images and discussions with editors who had met mcqueen in 2003 to discuss the collaboration which never materialised . 73 the issue also features contributions from lady gaga steven klein nick knight and mario testino 74 only 1 500 numbered copies were made with pages made from seeded paper which will sprout wildflowers once planted signifying the ongoing legacy of mcqueen . 75 controversies edit alexander mcqueen first caused controversy with his spring summer 1995 collection which featured his signature bumster trousers . at the time the trousers were described as indecent as they barely covered the natural downward curve of the buttocks . 76 he followed this by entitling his autumn winter 1995 collection highland rape which he explained was about the rape of scotland by the english a subject that had a personal resonance as his family is of scottish descent . 77 the collection featured tattered dresses made of scraps of tartan and chiffon and a tampon strewn skirt . 78 in 1998 alexander mcqueen photographed aimee mullins and sent her down the catwalk with intricately carved wooden legs making her the first amputee to ever be featured on the catwalk . 79 for the untitled spring summer 1999 catwalk show shalom harlow s white cotton dress was sprayed by car robots as she was spun around a platform . 80 animal rights activists and heavy police presence due to a reported bomb scare were present at the autumn winter 2000 eshu catwalk show due to the extensive use of fur and leather in the collection . 81 mcqueen was accused of misogyny following the autumn winter 2009 the horn of plenty catwalk show 82 where models with huge overdrawn red and black lips were compared to a blow up sex doll and hats made from found objects and rubbish like aluminium cans and duct tape implied models themselves were trash . 83 84 similarly the autumn winter 2010 an bailitheor cn mh menswear catwalk show featured men in weird masks and netted headgear that alluded to sadomasochism or bondage and one of the suits was printed with human skulls and bones . 85 for the spring summer 2010 plato s atlantis catwalk show models refused to wear the now iconic 12 inch high armadillo shoes due to safety fears . 86 one of the models who refused had fainted in the spring summer 2009 natural dis tinction un natural selection catwalk show after being squeezed into a corset which was too tight . 87 lady gaga wore a pair in her music video for bad romance 88 89 and created a version in chocolate encrusted with sparkly sprinkles for her christmas shop in 2011 . 90 selfridges department store in london caused controversy when they unveiled a window display showing one of his