Biography
Following his tragic death in 2010, Alexander McQueen's longtime colleague Sarah Burton was charged with continuing the great designer’s legacy. Having worked with McQueen for 14 years, Burton has subtly shifted the house’s aesthetic while maintaining its iconoclastic codes. This has seen Burton produce collections inspired by apiculture and an episcopal combination of popes, saints and angels.
Burton grew up in Manchester but moved to London to study at Central St Martins. On the recommendation of her tutor, Burton completed a placement year at Alexander McQueen in 1996. She returned following her graduation and was named head of womenswear design after just two years, in 2000.
Burton now supervises the creative direction and development of all collections of the brand, which includes women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and accessories as well as the higher-end contemporary line McQ, which is also made up of women’s, men’s and accessories collections. In April 2011, she received global recognition as the designer of the wedding dress for HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton to HRH Prince William.
Burton was also awarded an Order of the British Empire for her services to the British fashion industry. In addition, the much-decorated designer has won The Walpole Award for British Luxury Design Talent , Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year Award, the Designer of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards, and in June 2019 received the CFDA International Award.