The Alexander McQueen business will be kept on by Gucci Group and its fall 2010 collection will be shown at fashion week, following the untimely death last week of the brand's eponymous founder and creative director.
For the last decade, McQueen had thrived after Gucci Group bought a 51 percent stake in the company (relieving the designer of his post at rival LVMH as Givenchy's couturier), expanding the business to include boutiques in 11 cities worldwide, a lower-priced capsule collection, McQ, menswear and collaborations with big brands Target, Puma and Samsonite.
Despite a great deal commercial and critical success, the designer was plagued by a series of personal tragedies and ultimately took his own life abruptly at the dawn of New York fashion week. Questions immediately arose regarding the future of the brand, which in essence was the extension of the man himself, and the McQ presentation scheduled for a New York debut was hastily cancelled. However, just a week later, those at the head of the business indicated that, based on McQueen's supreme faith in his team and what they believe to be a strong future, they will keep the company alive.
Furthermore, the designer's last collection will be shown during Paris fashion week at the start of March -- an event that will undoubtedly become a poignant memorial for the loss of such bright talent.
