Fashion world's provocateur McQueen dead at 40

LONDON (Reuters) - British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, whose provocative collections made him a global star, was found dead at his London home on Thursday in what media said appeared to be suicide. He was 40.

Nicknamed the "hooligan" of British fashion for his close-cropped hair, trademark Doc Marten boots and shocking catwalk collections, McQueen rose from teenage trainee tailor to runway darling before the age of 30. He had been expected to unveil his new collection at Paris Fashion Week in March.

"He was found dead this morning," McQueen's communications director Samantha Garrett told Reuters by telephone.

A statement released by his office -- referring to the designer by his given first name, Lee -- read: "On behalf of Lee McQueen's family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand, has been found dead at his home."

Police said they were not treating his death as suspicious. The BBC reported that McQueen had announced the death of his mother on his Twitter site earlier this month.

McQueen's friend, the influential British fashion insider Isabella Blow who helped his career take flight, took her own life in 2007 at the age of 48.

"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," the statement from McQueen's office said.

HOOLIGAN AT GIVENCHY HELM

Born in a working class area of London, the youngest of six children, McQueen left school at the age of 16 and gained an apprenticeship at the traditional Savile Row tailors Anderson and Sheppard, moving on to neighboring Gieves and Hawkes.

The former British Designer of the Year winner eventually gained a masters degree in fashion design from London's prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

McQueen had an ability to shock and his autumn/winter 1995 collection "Highland Rape" which featured disheveled looking models in torn clothing was considered a classic example.

The following year, McQueen was named head designer at the staid Paris couture house Givenchy. His first collection for the French atelier was not widely considered to be a success.

But he went on to establish his own label and become part of the Gucci stable of brands owned by French retailer and luxury goods group PPR, drawing in fans, customers and fame and earning a place at the top table of fashion.

"Alexander McQueen was one of the greatest fashion designers of his generation," PPR Chief Executive Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement. "His sometimes provocative genius, admired and hailed by all, was constantly opening up new perspectives."

Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman praised the designer for his "brilliant imagination."

"At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over," Shulman wrote on the fashion bible's website.

Supermodel Kate Moss canceled a London appearance on Thursday evening and sent word in an emailed statement from her agency Storm that she was "shocked and devastated at the tragic loss of her dear friend Lee McQueen."

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld told French radio that McQueen had always flirted with death in his work and that success and fame were never enough to sustain happiness.

"In these types of professions (modeling, acting, fashion design) if you haven't got a strong back and are not hard-headed you expose yourself to anguish," Lagerfeld said.

"He also had a nervous depression which reached its culminating point with the death of his mother last week."

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Astrid Wendlandt in Paris; editing by Keith Weir)