Late ALEXANDRA MCQUEEN london home to be sold for £7.25 million.
A luxury apartment that was being renovated by Alexander McQueen has finally gone on sale three years after the flamboyant fashion designer tragically took his own life.
It is unlikely that the luxury Mayfair property in the heart of the capital has been decorated to the eccentric style that the former chief designer for Givenchy would have chosen himself.
But the 2,500sqft three-bedroom pad - two of which have their own private courtyards plus en suite bathrooms - is a home for the truly well-heeled nevertheless.
For sale: The home that was being renovated by Alexander McQueen has finally gone on the market three years after the designer's death
Modern: The living room has been decorated in cream with a dark wooden floor, perhaps a more conservative tone than McQueen would have chosen himself
Life of luxury: The courtyards, which can be accessed through two of the bedrooms, have been lined with shrubs
Once home to the author PG Wodehouse as well as a grandson of Queen Victoria, the property in Dunraven Street is about to go on the market through estate agent Knight Frank for £7.25 million.
A blue plaque on the exterior of the building pays tribute to Wodehouse, whose work includes the satire of the newspaper industry, Scoop.
The year after McQueen was found hanged after committing suicide in 2010, the property was snapped up by property development company Aspire, funded by a specialist loan from Dragonfly Property Finance.
Chief executive Gary Brine set about finishing the work started by McQueen, according to an article in The Times yesterday.
Easy living: Two of the bedrooms have their own private courtyards as well as en suite bathrooms
Fish soup: McQueen was looking forward to his new kitchen, where he would have prepared the perfect bouillabaisse
And while the interior's neutral colours may be a little on the conservative, the designer has retained the wine store, a feature McQueen spoke enthusiastically in his last interview before he died.
Each year the Pinault family, the French majority shareholders of the McQueen fashion house and owners of a Bordeaux vineyard, sent the 40-year-old a case of their finest wine.
Dream home: Alexander McQueen was found dead at another of his properties before he got the chance to move into his new home
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, he had said: 'My cave should be full of Latour - I've still got 28 bottles left.
'Francois-Henri Pinault sends me a case each year with a note asking that we leave them for at least six years.
'But I drank a whole case at Christmas - loved it.'
McQueen spoke enthusiastically to the magazine's Godfrey Deeny, who wrote: 'One can tell he's desperately keen to move into his new home, anxious to get the art he's bought installed, keen to walk is dogs in Hyde Park and determined to do lots of cooking.
'McQueen gets very excited explaining how to make a good bouillabaisse.'
But he never did get to rustle up his favourite fish soup in his dream home.
He was found hanged by his housekeeper at another of his properties in Green Street, London in February, 2010, shortly after the interview.
McQueen was born in Lewisham south London in 1969 and was the youngest of six children. His father was a taxi driver and his mother, a social sciences teacher.
Shortly after he was born the family moved to a small terraced council house in Stratford, east London.
Openly gay, he left school at 16 with just one O'Level in art, and was offered an apprenticeship at traditional Savile Row tailor Anderson and Shephard. He later went to work at neighbouring Gieves and Hawkes.
It was while here that he developed his deftly cut tailored look and in less than 10 years he was to become one of the most respected fashion designers in the world.
Following stints working for Koji Tatsuno, then Romeo Gigli in Milan, he returned to London where he completed a masters degree in Fashion Design at Central St Martins.
Talent: McQueen took the fashion world by storm when he got his big break in 1996. Pictured here with Naomi Campbell (left) Kate Moss (on his right) and Annabel Nielson (far right)
When he displayed his portfolio in 1992, it was snapped up in its entirety by Isabella Blow, fashion editor of Tatler magazine.
But it was in 1996 that McQueen got arguably the biggest break he would ever have when he was appointed chief designer at the French fashion house Givenchy.
One of his career highlights came in 1996 when he was asked by pop legend David Bowie to design his wardrobe for his forthcoming tours.
He also designed the Union Jack jacket worn by Bowie on the cover of his drum and bass album, Earthling.
Cutting edge: McQueen designed the Union Jack jacket for David Bowie's Earthling album in 1997. Right, McQueen at the British Fashion Awards in 2005. He was to win the top honour four times during his career
Designer: McQueen was asked by Bjork to create the front cover of her album Homogenic
Diva: The year before he died, McQueen designed some of the costumes for Lady Gaga's video Bad Romance
In 1997 McQueen collaborated with Icelandic popstar Bjork, design the cover for her Homogenic album and directing the video for the single Alarm Call.
In 2009 - the year before he died - he ventured back into the world of pop music again when he was asked by Lady Gaga to design some of the clothes for her Bad Romance video.
In an illustrious career during which he was labelled a 'l'enfant terrible' and 'the hooligan of English fashion', McQueen was to be named British Designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003, and International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designer's of America in 2003.
He was also made a CBE in 2003.
But despite his fame and riches, he was having troubles in his personal life.
David LaChappelle, a friend of the designer, said in the lead up to his death he was 'doing a lot of drugs and was very unhappy'.
He took his own life just nine days after he lost his mother to cancer, and just days before the start of London Fashion Week.
McQueen left a note saying: 'Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee.'
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