McQueen fashion label to live on after his death

Known for daring style, designer helped revive Britain’s fashion industry

PARIS - Alexander McQueen's namesake label will live on despite the designer's tragic death.

Francois-Henri Pinault, chief executive of the French conglomerate PPR SA, made the announcement Thursday after paying homage to McQueen, who was found hanged in his London apartment last week. PPR owns the Italian fashion house Gucci; the Gucci Group has a majority stake in the McQueen label.

Pinault called McQueen a genius, a poet and a friend.

"The brand Alexander McQueen will continue to live," Pinault said following a video tribute to the designer during the company's annual results presentation.

McQueen rose to fame in the 1990s, and was known for his daring and edgy style and skillful tailoring. He is credited with helping to revive the once-moribund British fashion industry.

Robert Polet, president and chief executive officer of the Gucci Group, said he believes in the future of the brand.

"[McQueen] was very proud of the people working in his company, and so am I,” Polet said during the PPR presentation.

Following his death last week, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour called McQueen "one of the greatest talents of his generation."

"He brought a uniquely British sense of daring and aesthetic fearlessness to the global stage of fashion. In such a short career, Alexander McQueen's influence was astonishing — from street style, to music culture and the world's museums," Wintour said in a statement. "His passing marks an insurmountable loss."