“Each piece is unique, as was he.”

"... Those simple words, at the end of the show notes for the final collection by the late Lee Alexander McQueen, captured the sentiment of a singular talent extinguished too soon." -WWD

Alexander McQueen's final collection, Fall 2010, was shown for a small audience today in Paris. 

These last designs McQueen cut himself in the days preceeding his death exhibit his extraordingary technical skill, imagination, artistry and brilliance as a designer.  His fashions were feats of engineering, and the definition of couture.

It is almost trendy these days to talk about how much you loved McQueen and the sadness and tradgedy of it all.  I think a lot of that sentiment comes from people who maybe were not so familiar with his designs, but after hearing of his death and all the publicity surrounding that, his work is suddenly much more visible, and accessible to the mainstream public.  And so whether you were in the industry and new his work well, or if you only now discovered all that beauty and brilliance and talent you had missed, it truly is sad to realize there will never be another design. I always dreamed he would design my wedding dress.

I like the way Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, said it in her official statement upon news of his death:

We are devastated to learn of the death of Alexander McQueen, one of the greatest talents of his generation. He brought a uniquely British sense of daring and aesthetic fearlessness to the global stage of fashion. In such a short career, Alexander McQueen’s influence was astonishing—from street style to music culture and the world’s museums. His passing marks an insurmountable loss.

You can see the full collection (16 peices) and read a great accompanying article on WWD.