The world woke up to a devastating blow this morning with news that fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London apartment at age 40, from what police are saying was a suicide. The son of a cab driver, McQueen got his start on Saville Row, where it became quickly obvious he wasn't going to fit in. (One legend has him sewing an obscenity into the lining of a coat he was tailoring for Prince Charles.) He then began to forge his own path, flipping a finger to notions of good taste while injecting the international fashion scene with a potent dose of his signature style, consisting of equal parts whimsy, danger and flare. His fashion shows were legendary for their incorporation of technology, theatrics and controversy -- he once sent a double amputee down the runway in a pair of hand-carved legs and boots -- and before long his designs were popping up on the backs of Hollywood's more adventuresome leading ladies. What follows are some of those looks -- some triumphs, some legendary misses, but almost always something worth talking about.
Sandra Bullock said McQueen "knows what he is doing" at the 2010 SAG Awards, where she wore a black and cobalt gown by the designer.
Gwyneth Paltrow is still living down the gothic McQueen dress she wore to the 2002 Oscars, which had a sheer (and, under flashbulb glare, transparent) top. The original dress was presented on a Paris runway in front of live wolves.
Drew Barrymore chose Alexander for the world premiere of her directorial debut, Whip It, at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. The dress was the color of a lemon Popsicle, which set off the geometric patterns of its gothic lace overlay -- giving the look the feel of something Wednesday Addams might wear to a cocktail party. Drew's hair, dyed-to-match, was more controversial.
Cate Blanchett donned this dress to the premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but chose a more conservative hem- and neckline and added a strange, flesh-colored undergarment.
Lady Gaga has built her entire aesthetic around McQueen's more out-there looks, including incorporating into her "Bad Romance" video the "hoof heels" that caused a sensation at his Spring/Summer 2010 show.
Sarah Jessica Parker and McQueen shared a longstanding friendship and creative partnership (he made the clothes, she wears them). Here, the two wore matching tartans at the Costume Institute AngloMania Gala at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006.
Here is Sarah Jessica Parker in McQueen again, this time at the London world premiere of Sex and the City. The lime dress was McQueen at his most cute, playful and understated -- which is probably why Philip Treacy's over the top headpiece was what most people were talking about the next day.
Cameron Diaz found an umbrella to match the bright red, silk gown she wore at 2010's drizzly Golden Globes Awards.
At the 2008 premiere of Definitely, Maybe, Rachel Weisz definitely looked put-together in this retrofuturist-noir dress and red yo-yo belt.
Katie Holmes rocked this checkered Mobius strip at the 2008 First Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon.