Sara Burton for Alexander McQueen

Several weeks ago Sara Burton was named creative director for Alexander McQueen. The label promoted from within; Burton was the head designer for the women's wear line. She has been with McQueen since 1997, just one year after her graduation from Central Saint Martins. McQueen attended the same school. She was the logical choice to promote since Burton has been McQueen's go-to assistant for quite some time. Burton courageously completed McQueen's Fall/Winter 2010 collection after his death in February.

The CFDA Awards were held June 7, 2010 with great anticipation for the McQueen tribute. Sarah Jessica Parker introduced the tribute which included the entire Fall/Winter 2010 collection being shown. The collection wowed, but at the end it was all tears after a video showed McQueen waving after his Spring/Summer 2010 collection show.

CFDA winners included Marcus Wainright and David Neville for Rag & Bone (Menswear Designer of the Year), Alexis Bittar (Accessory Designer of the Year), Jason Wu (Swarovski Award for Womenswear), Richard Chai (Swarovski Award for Menswear), Alexander Wang (Swarovski Award for Accessory Design), Michael Kors (Geoffery Beane Lifetime Achievement Award), Tonne Goodman of Vogue (Eleanor Lambert Award), Christopher Bailey for Burberry (International Award), Iman (Fashion Icon Award), Kim Hastreiter of Paper (Eugenia Sheppard Award).

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Photo from Getty Images/Andrew H. Walker

Adieu, McQueen

The final Alexander McQueen collection was revealed in a small, private show at the end of Paris Fashion Week. At the time of McQueen's death there were still 16 pieces only 80% completed. The fashion house's team worked overtime to complete the master's vision.





The models were stoic with a quiet beauty, almost looking like mannequins. The clothing looked to be from another era. McQueen found inspiration in the art of the Old Masters. He also wanted to return to the beauty of handcrafted clothing and eschew the futuristic and modern ideas of his contemporaries. Dresses resembled rich tapestries and gowns were fit for royalty. McQueen did not leave out his signature symbol though; crocodile booties encrusted with gold cherubs also featured skulls.





The collection was innovative, had incredible detail and was the perfect representation of McQueen's genius.





McQueen's parent company, PPR, says the line will continue.



Photos from Model Management

Alexander McQueen, a No Show

Alexander McQueen's shows are the most anticipated each season. Even after his death, his collection was still scheduled to be shown during Paris Fashion Week, as normal. However, the show is being scaled down dramatically and will be extremely exclusive.

Fans are still eagerly awaiting the collection. For London Fashion Week there was a wall dedicated to McQueen where his many admirers posted sentiments and photos. It showed how much he was loved and how much he will be missed. After his death, it was reported that sales from McQueen's line was up 1400%. If you want to get a piece, there is no time like the present.

Shortly after McQueen's death, it was confirmed that he committed suicide the day of his mother's funeral. Ironically, he was found hanged in his wardrobe.

Icon Dies: Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen was found dead in his apartment on February 11, 2010. He killed himself days after his mother died, and several years after his patron, Isabella Blow killed herself.

McQueen won numerous awards throughout his career, including British Designer of the Year four times and International Designer of the Year. Celebrity clients include Lady Gaga, Penelope Cruz, Drew Barrymore, Nicole Kidman, Bjork and many, many more.

McQueen was innovative, rebellious, dramatic and will be greatly missed.

At 40 years old, his career and life was much too short.