Fashion designer Alexander McQueen found dead

Emergency services were called to his home in central London, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

LONDON, February 11, 2010 (AFP) - British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was on Thursday found dead at his London home, after apparently committing suicide, aged 40, police and reports said Thursday.

Emergency services were called to his home in central London, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

"We were called to an address at 10.20am this morning by the ambulance service after reports of a man found dead," the spokesman told AFP. "He is believed to be 40 years old. Next of kin have been informed.

"The death is being treated as non-suspicious."

A spokeswoman for the designer, known for his outrageous fashion creations, said: "Mr McQueen was found dead this morning at his home.

"We're devastated and I hope you understand that out of respect to his family and his colleagues we're not going to be making any further statement," she added.

Born in London's East End into a working class family -- his father was a taxi driver -- McQueen rose to fame after graduating from London's celebrated St Martin's College of Art and Design in 1991.

McQueen, a four-time winner of the British designer of the year award, was creative director of his own label which was majority-owned by Gucci and was one of Britain's most lauded fashion designers.