Alexander McQueen was born in 1970 in the East End of London. He left school at 16 and trained on Savile Row at Gieves & Hawkes. In 1991 his entire degree show was bought by influential stylist Isabella Blow, whose later suicide in 2007 led to him dedicating his entire spring/summer 2008 collection to her memory. He earned his master's degree in fashion design from London's Central Saint Martins in 1992. McQueen won the British Fashion Awards' British Designer of the Year four times and won the Men's Wear Designer of the Year award in 2004. In 2003, he received the CFDA Award for Best International Designer and was honored with a CBE from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the fashion industry. McQueen died, aged 40, on February 11 2010, Sarah Burton was named his successor at Alexander McQueen and has very successfully carried the McQueen brand with the essence of Alexander.