Sarah Jane Burton (née Heard; born 1974) is an English fashion designer, currently creative director of fashion brand

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashi ...

. She designed the wedding dress of Catherine Middleton for her wedding to Prince William in 2011. In 2012, she was named in

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, ...

, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world according to ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

''.

Early life

Burton was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, one of five children of Anthony and Diana Heard. She attended Withington Girls' School in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. After completing an art foundation course at Manchester Polytechnic, and opting to pursue fashion over studies in fine art, she studied Print Fashion at the

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of sho ...

in London. During her third year she was interviewed for a year's placement at Alexander McQueen at the suggestion of her tutor Simon Ungless, a friend of

McQueen McQueen, Mcqueen, MacQueen or Macqueen may refer to: *Clan Macqueen, a Scottish clan *McQueen (surname), including a list of people named McQueen, Mcqueen, MacQueen or Macqueen *McQueen McIntosh (1822–1868), United States and Confederate judge * ...

's. She joined the company for a year as an intern, when the company was based in a tiny studio in Hoxton Square.

Fashion career

Ballgown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen

On graduation in 1997, she joined the company full-time as McQueen's personal assistant. Burton was appointed Head of Womenswear in 2000, during which time she created dresses for

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

. Following McQueen's death in February 2010, and after company owner

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty Inc., ...

confirmed that the brand would continue, Burton was named as the new creative director of Alexander McQueen in May 2010. In September 2010, Burton presented in Paris the first McQueen womenswear collection she had wholly created. On 29 April 2011, it was revealed that Burton had designed the

wedding dress A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo ...

of Catherine Middleton for her marriage that day to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Burton's work came to the attention of Middleton in 2005 when she attended the wedding of

Tom Parker Bowles Thomas Henry Parker Bowles (; born 18 December 1974) is a British food writer and food critic. Parker Bowles is the author of seven cookbooks and, in 2010, won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for his writings on British food. He is known f ...

, the son of the Duchess of Cornwall, for whom McQueen had designed the wedding dress for his bride, fashion journalist Sara Buys. Made by the

Royal School of Needlework The Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace since 1987. History The RSN began as the School of Art Needlework in 1872, founded by Lady Victoria Welby ...

, Burton said creating the royal wedding dress had been the "experience of a lifetime". Burton also designed maid of honour

Pippa Middleton Philippa Charlotte Matthews (née Middleton; born 6 September 1983) is an English socialite, author and columnist. She is the younger sister of Catherine, Princess of Wales. Born in Reading and raised in Bucklebury, Berkshire, Middleton attende ...

's dress, and the dress that Kate Middleton wore to the wedding's evening festivities. In 2011, Burton was named the

British Fashion Council The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashi ...

's Designer of the Year.

Personal life

As of 2011 Burton lived in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west fr ...

with her husband David Burton, a fashion photographer.

Honours

On 28 November 2011 Sarah Burton won the Designer of the Year at the 2011

British Fashion Awards The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contribu ...

. In July 2012, Burton received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...

from

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

where she was a former student, becoming an honorary Doctor of Arts. Burton was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to the British fashion industry. In June 2019, Burton was awarded the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti International Award by the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory ...

. In November 2019, the

bestowed Burton with the Trailblazer Award.

References

External links

Alexander McQueen Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Sarah Living people People from Macclesfield Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Alumni of Central Saint Martins English fashion designers British women fashion designers 1974 births People educated at Withington Girls' School Officers of the Order of the British Empire Wedding dress designers Alexander McQueen