Alexander McQueen
As a teenage apprentice on Savile Row — the home of British bespoke tailoring — Alexander McQueen cut suits for the likes of Prince Charles and Mikhail Gorbachev. That classical training helped him craft impeccably tailored looks for the runway, including razor-sharp suits and pencil skirts. He pushed convention at every turn, from his tenure as creative director at Givenchy to his eponymous collection. In 1996 he revived the trend of low-rise jeans by showcasing his so-called bumsters — extremely low-cut pants that revealed the buttocks — and he later made the skull motif mainstream by printing it on scarves and dresses. His full potential will never be known: he committed suicide in February 2010 at the age of 40. A note he scribbled on the back of a book simply said, "Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you."