The Death of an Icon: Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen was an English fashion designer known for his unconventional designs and shock tactics. McQueen's dramatic designs, worn by celebrities including Rihanna, Björk and Lady Gaga, met with critical acclaim and earned him the British Designer of the Year award four times. McQueen's early runway collections developed his 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".[1][14][15] McQueen was known for his lavish, unconventional, runway shows, such as a recreation of a shipwreck for his spring 2003 collection, spring 2005's human chess game and his fall 2006 show, "Widows of Culloden" which featured a life-sized hologram of supermodel Kate Moss dressed in yards of rippling fabric. McQueen has been credited with bringing drama and extravagance to the catwalk He used new technology and innovation to add a different twist to his shows and often shocked and surprised audiences. The silhouettes that he created have been credited for adding a sense of fantasy and rebellion to fashion. McQueen became one of the first designers to use Indian models in London.ome of McQueen's accomplishments included being one of the youngest designers to achieve the title "British Designer of the Year", which he won four times between 1996 and 2003. He was also awarded the CBE and named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. December 2000 saw a new partnership for McQueen, with the Gucci Group acquiring 51% of his company and McQueen serving as Creative Director. Plans for expansion included the opening of stores in London, Milan and New York, and the launch of his perfumes Kingdom and, most recently, My Queen. In 2005 McQueen collaborated with Puma to create a special line of trainers for the shoe brand. McQueen became the first designer to participate in MAC's promotion of cosmetic releases created by fashion designers. The collection, McQueen, was released on 11 October 2007 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. McQueen handpicked the makeup.

McQueen's death was announced on the afternoon of 11 February 2010. He was found dead that morning by his housekeeper at his home on Green Street, London W1. Paramedics were called; they pronounced him dead at the scene.

Here are some of his best works and some of the people seen in is magnificently extravagant designs

Relationships Aren’t For All.

Some people go their whole lives trying to please everyone else or trying to live up to a standard of being that doesn’t quite fit who they are. You have the people that think that if they follow the dating guide line precisely that they would end up happy and in love, but when happiness and loves doesn’t come they completely breakdown. You have the people that were told their whole lives that a person is incomplete without a partner so they are in constant relationships or fight to stay in a relationship that is bad for them because they are afraid to be alone. And then there are the ones that are in a relationship of sometime and think that they have all the answers and try to set you up with people they think you would “just love” and when you meet them they are completely undesirable to you and just aren’t right. So when is being single such a bad thing.

I’m not a relationship person and that's not to say that 1 or 5 or 10 year down the road i will be ready to settle down, but I do get very lonely at times and now that it’s the Christmas season it’s especially lonesome. I sit and think about when I was in a relationship and what if I was in a relationship, but then I see the people around me in relationships and I see how hard they fight to try not to be lonely around the holiday seasons. I’m not overly cynical, but I am jaded (I live in Las Vegas) so I feel that relationships are bullshit. Yeah, I know not everyone can be single, but not everyone can be in a relationship. I can see myself answering to someone or asking permission to go somewhere because my partner is uncomfortable with me going out without them. Fighting over whether or not I should have stared at that person longer than I did or whether or not I was flirting with someone.

I feel that I’m still too young to be in a serious relationship and I don’t judge people that are in relationships, but I do judge the ones that think they are better than you because they have someone and you don’t or make joke about your being single because your “tough” and you can handle it. Bullshit, I am tough, but bitch I am human and don’t come for me, ever! I have had chances to be with someone, but when I think about the work I have to put in a steer clear of that and go my own way. I can barely take care of my dog let alone someone’s feelings; in that case I can barely take care of myself.

In closing what I’m trying to say is that some people like being single and having their freedom. I can handle being alone on the holidays because I know I’m tough and I will make it, but for those of you that are in a “serious” relationship trying to think of the way your single friends feeling whenever you try to set them up with people that are good for or when they make insensitive joke at your expense because your think they are “tough” and can handle it. So with that have a happy holiday and New Year.

What Choices Are The Right Ones?

I just had a well over due phone call with an old friend of mine that got me thinking. I rarely ever think ‘what if’ about things, but this conversation had me thinking it. What if I didn’t quit my job, would I still be there, would I have lasted any longer then I did, would I have gotten a promotion, would I have become friends with such good people, will I be living with my grandmother, would I still be friends with….? If I would have stay I think I would have been very unhappy, the job was good and all, but I wasn’t happy and I felt that I would have done something or said something to get myself fired. So I don’t regret quitting my job, but do I regret losing a friend. We were very close, close enough to move in together and call each other our bff’s. She met my family and I hers and then we started call each other brother and sister, so yeah we were close. Until she moved her boyfriend in, at first I was fine with it then she asked if it was fine that he didn’t pay rent. Being me I said it was fine, but he had to pitch in on the bills at least. All was good until the light bill came. She asked me if I could pay the bill this time and she and her bf would be paying the next one. Fine I had the money and I was going to buy DVDs, gas, porn and food, so I was fine with it. Then she asked if I can pay part of her rent because she had to help him pay his insurance. Umm I told her that I could, I had to pay my car note. So what do you think she went and did? She goes and tells the one person in America whom you do not want your business told to. She tells her that she needs to borrow $200 to pay the light bill because I refuse to pay the bill because I was saving up for Janet Jackson tickets.
While in a conversation with one of my dearest friends, the girl decides to put her two cent in commenting on the fact that she thinks it is wrong of me for not helping my roommate out with the bill and that if she was her she and her boyfriend would put me and my shit out on the streets. After I read her rights to her and put her back in the place of an 18 year old child that hasn’t had a chance to live I call my roommate for an explanation and she tries to make me feel bad for having enough money to spend on and new car or on a grocery cart full of DVDs. She chose to date a guy that worked at Wal-Mart, so she should deal with the fact that she can’t go to a wedding in San Diego and buy a new dress to try to impress the parents whom don’t even accept you. And then she became less fun. She was on a schedule; she had to be at home by 9 to do his hair, because God forbid his emo ass hair isn’t straight enough for his overly work and under paid co-workers. She couldn’t go out or hang out because she want to be home after work to spend time with her boyfriend because I guess they didn’t see each other anymore, despite the fact that they lived together had the same days off shared a car or 2.
She would call out of work knowing that she could afford it. And when she was at work she had a terrible attitude and would get angry if the conversation was less than pleasant about her boyfriend. Then her boyfriend thought that he would make some house rule. I don’t think so. He wasn’t even paying rent and now we were behind on the bill because he couldn’t pay, so yeah he had no opinions. He thought that I shouldn’t have people over when hit wasn’t around because it was safe for her. I don’t have company and when I do they come over whenever they please because I’m paying the rent and bills for you to live. A month and a half later she was moving out and I quit my job and move back home. We were having a very amusing MySpace war which I found to be so funny, she didn’t even have a MySpace account until I told her to get one. So when a mutual friend of our called me and we caught up and she told me that my ex-“bff” has had a child and is living with her bf with his brother and his girlfriend, and I smile because I know she is happy (or she isn’t), but I know she is in love so for that I’m happy for her, but I can’t be her friend, not after all that was said and done between us. She tells me that my ex-roomie tells her how much she misses me and how she wishes that we could be friends again and how she thinks I changed. Whatever I have great friends now and I may not be the happiest person, but I’m content and I love my life and the people that are in it. I have some of the best friends and the truest friends, so no I don’t regret losing a friend because I have better friends.
I didn’t name names because if these people were to come across this they would know who they were, so names weren’t necessary. What I am trying to say is regret is a way for you to try to re-evaluate your life to see if there is something that you need to finish and fix, but if you lucky you can look back and be happy with every choice you’ve made. I haven’t made all the right choices and yes I have some regret I can just push off, but I’m happy with the right choices I’ve made and for that I’m ok and will be ok for a while.