Alexander McQueen's final collection goes on show amid tight security in Paris

In a sombre atmosphere and amid tight security Alexander McQueen's final collection goes on show in Paris.

PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 9, 2010) REUTERS - In a funereal atmosphere, the final fashion show of the late designer Alexander McQueen went on display in Paris on Tuesday (March 9) amid tight security normally afforded living heads of government.
Eyewitnesses said participants arrived in small groups in a sombre mood to the event, which was closed to photographers and television cameras.

Nearly everyone who attended the show of the designer who committed suicide last month declined to comment. But one reporter, Reuters correspondent Sophie Hardach, said:

"It was a fashion show, and also, despite the sombre mood, the clothes themselves were actually a real festival and extremely joyous, he took inspiration from the Old Masters and sort of Venetian dramas, we saw a lot of red and gold, and it was really a collection of a designer at the height of his powers and his skills."

The collection was far removed from the edgy style for which McQueen made his name as the bad boy of British fashion.

"One thing that's easy to forget, because he had this image as a rebel boy, or a bit of a, you know, hooligan designer, is that actually he was incredibly skilled, and his clothes were incredibly sophisticated. This was not a show about punk fashion, it was a show about very dramatic and very impressive clothes," Hardach told Reuters television.

And with McQueen's last collection now seen, people are beginning to wonder what is next for the label. But it would seem that nobody really knows.

"It was a very sad and sober mood, and there was also the confusion about what's going to happen next, people don't seem to be sure. The owners, PPR Group, have said that they want to continue the brand, there've been rumours about who could replace him, but actually, talking to the people who've worked closest with him, all they want to talk about is his legacy, his designs - these were the last clothes that he actually designed himself, cut himself - and there was no talk about the future."

McQueen, whose provocative collections made him a global star, was found dead at his London home on February 11.