Alexander McQueen hanged himself in a wardrobe, an inquest has been told.

The iconic fashion designer was found dead in his London apartment last Thursday, the day before the funeral of his mother was due to be held. It has been claimed he was struggling to cope with her passing, and was also depressed following the end of a relationship and the loss of other people close to him.

An inquest into his death opened in London today. A post-mortem has shown the 40-year-old died by asphyxiation and hanging.

Westminster Coroner?s Court has also been told Alexander left a suicide note. Earlier reports had suggested the designer left several letters explaining his actions for members of his family and friends.

Alexander was left devastated when his mother passed away on February 2. He admitted he was having trouble dealing with her death, but was committed to moving on with his life.

"i'm letting my followers know the my mother passed away yesterday if it she had not me nor would you RIP mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx but life must go on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sic)," he wrote on his Twitter page.

Days later he posted: "sunday evening been a f**king awful week but my friends have been great but now i have to some how pull myself together (sic)."

He had been making the final alterations to his collection ahead of its debut at Paris Fashion Week in several weeks' time.

Many celebrities paid tribute to Alexander following his death, with model Naomi Campbell saying: "His talent had no boundaries and he was an inspiration to everyone who worked with him and knew him."

Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Osbourne, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Katy Perry also spoke of their shock at his death. Lady Gaga dedicated her performance at last night's BRIT Awards to the designer.