Designer Alexander McQueen’s death was by asphyxiation and hanging, according to report

These are some excerpts from an Associated Press story by Jill Lawless:

Alexander McQueen hanged himself in his apartment on the eve of his mother’s funeral after leaving behind a note, a coroner’s inquest said Wednesday in the first confirmation of details of the fashion designer’s death.

The inquest — which has yet to formally rule McQueen’s death a suicide — opened as London Fashion Week prepared to mark the passing of one of British fashion’s brightest stars.

Coroner’s official Lynda Martindill told the inquest at Westminster Coroners Court that 40-year-old McQueen died from asphyxiation and hanging.

Days before his body was found on Thursday, McQueen had left several messages on the social networking site Twitter revealing his grief at the death of his mother days earlier.

The designer’s body was found in the armoire at his London apartment and was formally identified by his sister, Janet.

Police detective inspector Paul Armstrong told the inquest there were no suspicious circumstances.

McQueen’s family, who are now free to hold the designer’s funeral, issued a statement through their lawyers appealing to the media to respect their privacy.

McQueen’s death has cast a shadow over London Fashion Week, which opens on Friday. A spokeswoman said the event would feature a tribute to the designer, whose attention-grabbing designs helped re-energize British fashion after a fallow period following the punk explosion in the 1970s.

“There will be something simple and tasteful,” she said. “The time for memorials will be later in the year.”

She spoke on condition of anonymity because organizers are waiting for McQueen’s family to approve the tribute.

Known for his dramatic statement pieces and impeccable tailoring, McQueen dressed celebrities from Cameron Diaz to Lady Gaga and influenced a generation of designers.

McQueen was a private man who avoided the limelight, but his Twitter postings show emotional turmoil after his mother’s death on Feb. 2. McQueen had posted messages four days before his death about his “awful week,” and said he had to “somehow pull myself together and finish.”

His mother’s funeral was held the day after McQueen died.

Friends also said he might have felt under pressure to outdo himself at the unveiling of his spring collection in Paris next month.

“I don’t think success was easy for him,” friend Plum Sykes wrote in the Sunday Telegraph this week. “He told me he was driven by his insecurities, and he believed that all successful people were.”