Paco Rabanne, Mary Quant and Jane Birkin: The fashion personalities that left us in 2023
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Only a few days to go until the end of 2023. Before the year draws to a close and a new chapter begins in 2024, FashionUnited takes a look back at some of the highlights. While 2023 brought its share of good news - brand development, the creation of new labels and collaborations - it was also marked by some sad moments, with the deaths of major fashion figures.
January: Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz, a German national, died on Wednesday 11 January 2023 at the age of 56. Patitz belonged to a generation of model stars that included Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. Alongside some of them, she also appeared in George Michael's famous Freedom video clip Read more.
February: Paco Rabanne
Spanish born Paco Rabanne was confirmed to have passed away at 88 in Portsall, France. The news was announced in an Instagram post on the account of the designer’s namesake brand, where it was stated: “We are grateful to Monsieur Rabanne for establishing our avant-garde heritage and defining a future of limitless possibilities.”Read more.
February: Hilary Alexander
Famed fashion journalist Hilary Alexander died on her 77th birthday in London. She was the honorary president of Graduate Fashion Foundation, a role in which she secured many of the GFF lifetime patrons, including Zandra Rhodes and Diane Von Furstenberg.Read more.
March: Myriam Ullens de Schooten Whettnall
The founder of fashion brand Maison Ullens, Myriam Ullens de Schooten Whettnall, died on 29 March. The news was confirmed in a press release from the Belgian luxury fashion brand.Read more.
March: Jacqueline Gold
Former executive chair of lingerie retailer Ann Summers, Jacqueline Gold, passed away at the age of 62 after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. Gold took over the lingerie business in 1981 from her father David Gold, who also notably passed away 10 weeks before her death.Read more.
April: Mary Quant
A leading figure in British fashion and women's emancipation, Mary Quant died aged 93. The fashion designer and businesswoman became famous for popularising the miniskirt in London during the Swinging Sixties, a piece that marked its time as a tool for the emancipation of Western women.Read more.
May: Slava Zaïtsev
The famous Russian fashion designer Vyacheslav (Slava) Zaïtsev, nicknamed the "Red Dior" and the "Czar of Soviet fashion" by the Western press, died aged 85 after a long illness.Read more.
May: Valentin Yudashkin
Designer Valentin Yudashkin, the first Russian to be admitted to France's Haute Couture Syndicate in the 1990s, passed away aged 59, his Moscow fashion house confirmed in May. Yudashkin caused a stir in 1991 with his Faberge collection, mirroring the famed decorative eggs.Read more.
May: Jean-Marc Gaucher
Repetto, the French manufacturer of ballet slippers and shoes, announced in a press release that its chairman and owner Jean-Marc Gaucher had died at the age of 70.
June: Enric Casi
Enric Casi, CEO of Mango from 1996 to 2015, died at the age of 67. He joined the company as a consultant in 1983, and played a key role in its development.
July: Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin, who died on 16 July at the age of 76, left behind a significant cultural legacy. In music, cinema and, above all, fashion, she is one of the rare celebrities to have an ‘it-bag’ to her name and, above all, to have contributed to its design.Read more.
July: Edward Sexton
Savile Row tailor and fashion designer Edward Sexton passed away at the age of 80. Together with business partner Tommy Nutter, Sexton opened Nutters of Savile Row in 1969, where he created custom suits for notable musical figures and British officials.Read more.
September: Marc Bohan
Fashion designer Marc Bohan, who passed away aged 97, was artistic director of Dior for almost 30 years, an unrivalled longevity within the fashion house, where he dressed many stars and royalty, from Elizabeth Taylor to Grace of Monaco.Read more.
November: Charles Piaget
Charles Piaget, an emblematic figure of the workers' movement at the Lip watch factory, died at the age of 95, as announced by the mayor of Besançon, Anne Vignot.
November: Davide Renne
Just weeks after he was announced as the new creative director of Moschino, Davide Renne passed away at the age of 46. In a statement following his death, the Italian fashion house said that Renne had died after “a sudden illness”.Read more.
December: Lorenza Riva
Florentine designer Lorenza Riva died in the San Gerardo Hospital in his hometown of Monza at 85. Riva was known for his bridal and haute couture creations, presenting his first couture collection in 1972 and later sold his brand to an Italian production company.Read more.