McQ will show for the first time at London Fashion Week in February 2012.

The Alexander McQueen diffusion line’s catwalk show of their autumn/winter 2012-13 collection will serve as a preview for the label’s debut store opening later in the year.

McQ are to open a store carrying womenswear, menswear and accessories in a Georgian townhouse in London’s exclusive Mayfair district.

Yesterday, it was announced that Stella McCartney will also show for the first time at London Fashion Week.

The British designer will showcase a “one off special fashion presentation” on February 18 ahead of an assault on the British capital which will see her launch a ‘World of Stella’ exhibition of Selfridges, a new fragrance launch, and the opening of a second store.

However, she will then present her new collection in Paris, France as she has done for the past decade.

Alexander McQueen – who was known as Lee to friends – committed suicide in February 2010 but his successor Sarah Burton recently revealed the company still runs as if he were alive.

She explained: “Lee used to always say that you have to know all the rules to be able to break them.

“We have an open studio, so a big room, and it’s very visual. On the wall, there are just hundreds of images from all different kinds of periods and fabrics. Lee taught me to do things in a three-dimensional way.”