McQueen, whose given name was Lee, was found dead in his home in London yesterday, the same day a collection under his secondary label, McQ, was due to be unveiled at New York’s Fashion Week and weeks before the premier of his Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 couture collection in Paris.

While no official cause of death has been released, several published reports have indicated the 40-year-old “enfant terrible” of fashion hanged himself.

The designer’s alleged suicide came on the eve of the funeral of his beloved mother, who passed away Feb. 3. Family members told the British press that despite her son’s death, plans for her funeral were carried out today.

“It’s just so raw. We are grieving. Everyone is too upset to say anything,” McQueen’s brother Michael explained to The Evening Standard. “But mum’s funeral is going ahead. It has all been arranged.”

Meanwhile the designer’s flagship store in London and his store in New York City were closed in honor of his passing and stars who worked with McQueen in the past paid tribute.

“Lee McQueen was a truly unique visionary in the world of fashion,” Madonna, who wore the designer’s work on several occasions, said in a prepared statement. “A creator of beauty. What a tragedy.”

“Today we lost a true genius, Alexander McQueen,” Janet Jackson tweeted. “He possessed a unique creativity that will never be recaptured. Alexander invited me to my very 1st fashion show (his in London). There will NEVER be another!”

But perhaps the artist who’ll feel the loss of McQueen most deeply is Lady Gaga, whose own creative vision seemed tailor made for the designer’s often dark and menacing creations. (In fact, the gold origami fold dress the singer wears in the beginning of the video for “Bad Romance” is part of Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2010 collection.)

Gaga expressed her sorrow by simply tweeting a photo of herself and McQueen.

Click here for MTV.com‘s look at the impact the designs of Alexander McQueen had on the music world.

 Click here to see MTV.com‘s look at how the visions of Lady Gaga and Alexander McQueen were a match made in heaven.

Click here to see New York Magazine‘s photos of Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2010 collection on the runways of Paris.