Will McQueen Be On The New £20 Note?

Could Alexander McQueen grace the new £20 note? Speculation suggests that the late designer, raised in the east end of London, could have as good a chance as many of our other great British talents since the Bank of England has asked the public to have its say on who appears on the new currency.

"Banknotes are the principal way the Bank of England engages with the British public," the governor of the organisation, Mark Carney, said yesterday. "These sparse pieces of paper from the 17th century have developed over the years to become the small works of art that are in everyone's wallets. There are a wealth of individuals within the field of visual arts whose work shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society and who continue to inspire people today. I greatly look forward to hearing from the public who they would like to celebrate."

In their choice of "people of historic significance," Carney urged the public to think beyond "the most famous and the most obvious," the Guardian  reports. The process will be the first that will consult the public - with school visits and focus groups led by the Bank's chief cashier, Victoria Cleland, beginning shortly - and was announced yesterday at the Victoria & Albert Museum, where Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty is still the lead exhibition.