Coming soon: the scent of McQueen

Alexander McQueen is to follow the example of other fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood by launching his own fragrance.

McQueen said yesterday he was "very excited" about the project but that it is still in its embryonic stages. "We haven't come up with a concept yet."

The first McQueen fragrance, part of a 10-year deal, will be developed with Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, part of the Gucci Group which last December bought a 51 per cent stake in McQueen.

Vivienne Westwood developed Boudoir, her best-selling fragrance, in 1998. Earlier this year, Tanya Sarne's Ghost label also put its name to a perfume which now sells in department stores and duty free shops worldwide.

The designer fragrances demonstrate British fashion designers no longer exist as part of some sort of cottage industry. Rather, alongside their American and European counterparts ­ Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace and, most famously, Coco Chanel ­ they are now showing the maturity needed to become global brands in their own right.

At the time that the fragrance Ghost was launched by Cosmopolitan Cosmetics ­ also responsible for Gucci Envy ­ Tanya Sarne said its main purpose was to raise international awareness of the brand. There's a whole group of people who may not be able to afford Ghost's clothes but who can and will buy the fragrance.

McQueen has already announced his intention to do just this by signing the deal with Gucci in the first place.

The plan to develop not only a fragrance but also a range of McQueen accessories was obviously always going to be part of the deal.