Who Is Alexander McQueen? The Founder, the Owner and the House Today

Ask a tailor and they will tell you Alexander McQueen is a cutting house. Ask anyone else and they will mention the skull scarf, the armadillo shoe, a royal wedding dress. Both answers are right, and the distance between them is exactly what makes this label worth knowing before you buy it. This is the house story in full: the founder, the owner, the three creative directors, the codes that survive every era, and what the clothes cost today.

The founder: a Savile Row hand with a wild imagination

Lee Alexander McQueen was born in London in 1969 and left school for Savile Row, apprenticing at Anderson & Sheppard and then Gieves & Hawkes before taking his MA at Central Saint Martins. The stylist Isabella Blow famously bought his entire 1992 graduate collection, and the house was born that year. What set him apart was never shock alone. It was that the most theatrical pieces were built on flawless construction, a jacket shoulder a Savile Row cutter would sign off, a waist seam placed to the millimetre. He was named British Designer of the Year four times between 1996 and 2003, ran the couture studio at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 while building his own label, and was appointed CBE in 2003. He died in London on 11 February 2010.

Who owns Alexander McQueen?

The Gucci Group bought a 51 per cent stake in December 2000, and the house has been part of the group, now Kering, alongside Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, since 2001. It remains headquartered in London with its flagship at 27 Old Bond Street, and its ready-to-wear is made in Italy. Kering appointed Gianfranco D’Attis, formerly of Prada, as chief executive in June 2026, succeeding Gianfilippo Testa, with a brief to refocus the brand after a difficult three years.

The codes: bumster, corset, skull

Three ideas from the nineties still define the house. The bumster, a trouser cut daringly low at the back to lengthen the torso, first shown in the mid nineties, remains in the line: Luxury Handbags stocks the current Chevron Stripe Bumster Trousers. Corsetry runs through everything from the Corset Midi Dress to the laced waistcoats. And the skull, first printed on a silk chiffon scarf in 2003, became one of the most recognised motifs in fashion, carried today on the Silk Skull Print Evening Dress and the Floral Skull T-shirt. Underneath all three sits the fourth code, the one the founder brought from Savile Row: the peak shoulder and the seamed waist that make a McQueen jacket recognisable from the back of a room. The tailoring guide explains it.

After Lee: Sarah Burton, then Seán McGirr

Sarah Burton, the founder’s right hand for over a decade, was appointed creative director on 27 May 2010. She led the studio for thirteen years, designed the wedding dress Catherine, Princess of Wales, wore on 29 April 2011, and showed her final collection in Paris in September 2023. On 3 October 2023 Kering named Seán McGirr, a Dublin born Central Saint Martins graduate who had been head of ready-to-wear at JW Anderson, as her successor; his debut, autumn winter 2024, showed in Paris on 2 March 2024. McGirr’s collections lean back into the founder’s silhouettes, the peak shoulder, the corset line, the sharpened waist, and his autumn winter 2026 line adds the waterfall collar on the Waterfall Collar Coat and its jackets. The new era, explained covers what changed for buyers.

Alexander McQueen: the timeline

What the clothes cost, and where they are made

Every ready-to-wear piece Luxury Handbags stocks is made in Italy. On the brand’s own US site the women’s line runs from $360 for a t-shirt to $33,000 for an embellished gown, with a typical piece around $2,300; tailoring starts around $1,000 for trousers and $1,400 for a jacket, and embellished evening pieces reach five figures. The house cuts on the Italian ladder, IT 38 equals UK 6, and tailored pieces run true to size. The price guide sets out every category, and you can shop the full Alexander McQueen collection at Luxury Shoes , authenticity verified, with worldwide shipping.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Alexander McQueen?

Lee Alexander McQueen founded the house in London in 1992 after apprenticing on Savile Row at Anderson & Sheppard and Gieves & Hawkes and completing his MA at Central Saint Martins. Isabella Blow bought his entire graduate collection.

Who owns Alexander McQueen?

Alexander McQueen has been part of the Kering group, home of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, since 2001; the Gucci Group bought a 51 per cent stake in December 2000. Its chief executive since June 2026 is Gianfranco D’Attis.

Who is the creative director of Alexander McQueen?

Seán McGirr, appointed on 3 October 2023, succeeding Sarah Burton, who led the house from May 2010 to 2023. His first collection showed in Paris on 2 March 2024.

Is Alexander McQueen a luxury brand?

Yes. Alexander McQueen is a British luxury fashion house with ready-to-wear made in Italy. On the brand’s own site the women’s line runs from about $360 to $33,000, with a typical piece around $2,300.

What is Alexander McQueen known for?

Savile Row grade tailoring, corsetry, the bumster trouser and the skull motif, combined with some of the most theatrical runway shows in fashion history and the 2011 royal wedding dress.

Where is Alexander McQueen made?

The ready-to-wear is made in Italy, and the country of origin is printed on the care label and listed on every product page at Luxury Shoes . The house is headquartered in London.

Is Alexander McQueen still in business after the founder’s death?

Yes. The house continued under Sarah Burton from 2010 to 2023 and under Seán McGirr since, with new collections each season, a flagship at 27 Old Bond Street in London and boutiques and concessions in sixteen countries.

Read next

The Luxury Handbags editors have styled the current season in How to Wear Alexander McQueen, ranked the best dresses and the best tailoring, and mapped the alternatives in Brands Like Alexander McQueen. For the deeper cuts, read the story of the skull, the new era under Sean McGirr and where to buy the house today.