from a Yahoo! article today:

LONDON (Reuters) – British fashion designer Alexander McQueen hanged himself after taking a mixture of cocaine, tranquillizers and sleeping pills, the inquest into his death concluded.

According to the BBC, the London inquest was told that the world famous designer was under pressure from work and was “overwhelmed with grief” at the death of his mother Joyce.

The 40-year-old’s body was found in his London residence on February 11, the eve of his mother’s funeral.

“The balance of his mind was disturbed,” the BBC quoted coroner Paul Knapman as saying. He recorded a suicide verdict.

Westminster Coroner’s Court heard that the designer had a history of depression and had taken two drug overdoses in 2009 which were described as “cries for help.”

A joint statement from the Gucci Group, which is owned by French luxury conglomerate PPR, and the Alexander McQueen company said: “Today is a difficult day for all of those who knew and worked with Lee (McQueen’s given first name) as we come to terms with the manner of his tragic and untimely death.

“Whatever the circumstances of his passing, Lee will be remembered by all of us who had the privilege of calling him a colleague and friend as a rare talent, a true genius and brilliant creative force.”

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100428/entertainment/centertainment_us_mcqueen

It goes to show us that no matter how successful someone is in their career, we all experience pain, sometimes the pain can be so deep. I’m sad he is gone, that he suffered inside. This reminds us that life is short, to give all you’ve got, and to love those in our lives, because we never know when they’ll be gone.

I’ll continue to admire his work and draw on his art for inspiration. He had such a gift, and will be missed by fans, admirers and his close loved ones greatly.

He really was iconic in the fashion world.