Fashion Icon Alexander McQueen Commits Suicide

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead after taking his own life. The 40-year-old icon committed suicide just days after the death of his mother, Joyce, a source at McQueen's office confirmed to UK's Daily Mail. "It is a tragic loss. We are not making a comment at this time out of respect for the McQueen family." McQueen was found at his luxury flat in Green Park, central London. It is believed he hanged himself. The notable designer had a large list of celebrity clients including Lady Gaga, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, Beyonce and Naomi Campbell.

McQueen's contemporary line, McQ, was scheduled to be shown at New York Fashion Week on Thursday afternoon. KCD, the PR company handling the show, says the presentation is canceled. Born Lee Alexander McQueen, the designer was the youngest of six children and left school at 16 to work as a tailor apprentice at Savile Row's Anderson & Sheppard, whose clients included Prince Charles and Mikhail Gorbachev."At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee's family," his family says in a statement (via PEOPLE.) "Lee's family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this." His death also comes just three years after his close friend Isabella Blow killed herself. Blow discovered McQueen during her tenure as fashion director of Tatler. According to friends, McQueen was so distraught by her death that he dedicated his spring summer 2008 show at Paris Fashion Week to his late friend.In 1994, McQueen enrolled in London's prestigious Central Saint Martins Fashion School, and upon graduating, he set up his own label based in the East End of London. Openly gay, McQueen once described himself as the 'pink sheep of the family'. He married his partner, filmmaker George Forsyth, in the summer of 2000. The celebrated designer won numerous industry accolades, including being named International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. McQueen's death comes just days before the start of London Fashion Week and weeks before he was due to unveil his new collection at Paris Fashion Week on March 9.