Rainbow Bird Wings, Ivory Antlers, Beautiful Dreams; RIP McQueen

I feel like a cliche in saying it, but yesterday was a horrible day in the world of fashion. Visionary designer, Lee Alexander McQueen, was found dead, after having hung himself in the early hours of the morning.

I woke to a text yesterday from one of my best friend informing me of it, and like many others I know, I was absolutely shocked. I am still having a horrible time stomaching the reality of it. I spent a good half hour this morning watching video from Plato's Atlantis, his most recently shown collection, crying and being blown away by the beauty of it all. The thing that really breaks my heart is that we won't be able to see the genius of what he would have done next.

There was never a moment in watching video of McQueen's shows, or looking at runway shots for the first time, that I was not completely awe struck. When I first started Papusza, McQueen was one of the few who fed my desire to create, and charged me with a need to think outside of the box. He made me not be afraid of expressing my visions as creatively as I saw them in my head. He was a dreamer, and everything about his work inspires me. The way his clothes move, the silhouettes, the textures, the textiles... mind blowing. In creating his collections McQueen brought us to another level, another world, time and time again. He was a true artist. One of the few creators in the world of mainstream fashion that remained true to his own vision. For that, he will be greatly missed.

My heart hurts for him, and I truly hope that he is at peace now... in a world of rainbow bird wings, candy flowers, snow white antlers and surreal muses... he deserves to live in a world as beautiful as all that he created.

Below are some of my favorite pieces created by him, memorializing all of the inspiration that he has given to me. I'm sure that there are many others around the globe who feel the same as me...

In loving memory, to the dear genius of McQueen...