Almost three years after the designer's death, a new book documents the behind-the-scenes working process of one of Alexander McQueen's final collections for his own label.

Photographer Nick Waplington was charged by McQueen himself to take the pictures as part of a project that was intended to cover the label's archive as well as the quotidian of creating a collection. Instead the photos became a poignant testimony to the talents of a man now recognised as one of the most innovative designers the fashion world has ever seen.

That collection, for autumn 2009, was entitled 'Horn of Plenty' and featured models painted with Leigh Bowery-esque lipstick navigating a giant pile of rubbish, dressed in abstract houndstooth that degarded into bird prints on crimson ballgowns.

The book, available now, details in imagery the relationship between McQueen and Sarah Burton, now creative director of the label and his right-hand woman for the best part of ten years, while a sensitive introduction by Susannah Frankel speaks of having documented the process herself, spending years in close proximity to McQueen and his work.

It's a considered and careful tribute to a man whose suicide prompted vocal reaction from all quarters, focussing not on the tragedy of his death but rather on the scope and singularity of his work.