IT’S an ill wind that blows no good, so the saying goes, and so it was with depressing inevitability that the death of Alexander McQueen last week was followed by the sound of tills ringing.

Barely had his body left his London flat than women were rushing out to grab themselves a piece of the McQueen legacy. Stores like Liberty and Harvey Nichols saw their shelves stripped and online retailer net-a-porter sold out of his £2,845 reptile-print dress.

It is beyond sad that the McQueen family’s loss will be retailers’ gain. Even more heartbreaking is the thought that not all everyone snapping up McQueen’s designs will have been doing so out of love for his work.

Within hours of his passing, eBay was a awash with people flogging items.

Some fans sensed a chance to sell off vintage pieces from the backs of their wardrobes. Others were more calculating and will have no doubt raided their savings before rushing out to purchase whatever they could get their hands on, with the aim of earning a fast buck from his demise.

In a little over 48 hours, the number of McQueen items on eBay went from 63 to 900.

Now we learn that the fashion house has been asking journalists who have been given sample garments to send them back to the company’s headquarters in a bid to preserve his legacy.

Unlike the dozens of stars who have been rushing forward to express their heartbreak at the death of Alexander McQueen, left – or “Lee”, as his friends called him – I never knew Alexander McQueen. I never met him and I had never had the fortune to watch one of his mind-blowing shows. However, he was one of my favourite designers.

Without the sort of shopping budget enjoyed by the likes of Victoria Beckham and Sarah Jessica Parker, most of his creations were way out of my reach but last year my husband, himself a huge fan of the man’s work, treated me to a dress from his McQ range. And just last month, thanks to some very tenacious bargain-hunting, I got my hands on an Alexander McQueen dinner suit.

I haven’t worn it yet and now don’t know whether I ever will. I was also one of those hundreds of people who rushed out at the weekend to buy one of his iconic skull scarves.

I had promised myself one for years and, unlike the eBay mercenaries, it will be for my neck only.

Currently, the future of the McQueen brand looks uncertain.

When Gianni Versace was shot dead on the steps of his palazzo in Miami, in 1997, his sister, Donatella, was more or less waiting in the wings and has continued the house’s success.

And when Christian Dior died suddenly in 1957, his label’s backers were persuaded to keep it going, opening the door to a young designer by the name of Yves Saint Laurent.

When McQueen died, he was preparing for his show at Paris Fashion Week on March 6, and reports are coming out of France that it will still go ahead.

After that, who knows? It would be sad if Gucci, which owns the majority share in Alexander McQueen, shut up shop.

But, if they do to keep the brand going with another designer, that person is going to have some very big and exceptionally beautiful shoes to fill.