As one of Britain’s most prolific designers, Lee ‘Alexander’ McQueen has left a legacy that will forever be remembered, and now that legacy is being passed onto the next generation as the house he founded partners with A Team Arts Education, a community youth arts education organisation located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the heart of the East End, where McQueen proudly grew up. 

Having already forged a relationship with A Team Arts Education via out-reach workshops run throughout the pandemic, now McQueen further cements this bond with an ongoing partnership.  Over the next year, McQueen will support A Team Arts Education financially, while also offering a practical, direct link with Sarah Burton and her team – offering live experiences with McQueen’s design, textile and embroidery professionals structured as part of ‘The Explore Programme’, encouraging fashion pathways to produce the next set of fashion heavyweights.

“It feels especially important for us to be able to take part in supporting young people from the East End of London, where Lee Alexander McQueen grew up,” says Sarah Burton. “At this house we all know that talent comes from everywhere, irrespective of background. At a time when UK arts education is narrowing and being cut and young people are under pressure, we’re inspired and humbled to be able to join with A Team Arts Education in their exceptional grass-roots work in providing fashion, textiles and art and design programmes.”

The initiative comes at a time when many schools and local authorities are reducing their arts budgets and provision, and even cutting art subjects from their curriculum to focus on traditional STEM subjects, leaving little support for aspiring artists – meaning that programmes such as A Team Arts Education are more essential than ever to equip students with the creative skills and contacts to progress.