Alexander McQueen hanged himself, inquest told

Award-winning fashion designer, who left note at scene, had been distressed by death of his mother

The fashion designer Alexander McQueen hanged himself in the wardrobe of his London home, an inquest heard today.

McQueen left a note at the scene. The 40-year-old was found dead last Thursday.

He was known from comments left on his Twitter page to have been distressed by the death of his mother, Joyce, the previous week and killed himself on the eve of her funeral.

The designer, whose real first name was Lee, was regarded as a genius by many of his contemporaries and had been due to unveil his latest collection in Paris next month.

He was a four-time winner of the British Designer of the Year award and was made a CBE in 2003.

Lynda Martindill, a coroner's official, said a postmortem on Monday had revealed two causes of death, asphyxia and hanging, but added that no analysis or report was yet available.

Detective Inspector Paul Armstrong, of Charing Cross CID, told the inquest there were no suspicious circumstances.

He brought a note found at the scene, which was handed to the coroner, Paul Knapman, for further examination.

Journalists reporting the inquest were passed a letter requesting them to respect the McQueen family's privacy following their "grievous double loss in a very short space of time".

Knapman adjourned the inquest after a five-minute hearing, and it will resume on 28 April.

Contributor

James Meikle

The GuardianTramp

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