London Fashion Week kicked off today with a memorial service for celebrated fashion professor Louise Wilson.
The event, which took place at St Paul's Cathedral, attracted a slew of industry figures such as Sarah Burton, Donna Karan, Victoria Beckham, and Kanye West, who worked with Wilson while assembling his first womenswear line in 2011.
“I can confirm that Kanye has been to visit me twice [...] and we have briefly discussed this collaboration," she once told The Guardian. “I've known him for two years now and he's incredibly knowledgeable about fashion, he's a global phenomenon and a very interesting person. I think we can expect a well-considered collection [...] he researches thoroughly and is hands on and committed to his work.”
Clearly, Wilson had knack for spotting potential.
Before passing away at the age of 52 last May, following a long battle with breast cancer, Wilson was regarded as one of the most prestigious and nurturing professors within her field. While working at the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design for over two decades, she also mentored some of today’s most prolific and influential fashion designers, including Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders, and Stella McCartney.
She also worked as Donna Karan’s design director from 1997 to 2002; and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 for her contributions to the fashion industry and education.
Soon after Wilson’s death, the British Fashion Council announced the tragic news on its website. The statement read: "[Wilson] is attributed with helping develop some of the leading lights of London Fashion Week. It is hard to imagine Central Saint Martins or British fashion without her. She will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with her family and friends."
More than 300 people attended the memorial service, which included speeches from her loved-ones like former students, colleagues, and her only child, Timothy Wilson-Aggrey. The speakers talked about not only her academic and professional achievements, but her life outside of fashion, her passions for gardening and horseback riding, and love of Cadbury’s Curly Wurly chocolate bars.
"Her ideology was that it was imperative that her students focused on doing what they did best – irrespective of whether that’s tailoring or print," designer Jonathan Saunders told The Guardian. "Whatever it was they were trying to say she pushed until that identity was so strong and valuable. That’s the important thing about London–you can identify designers’ work very clearly, and a lot of that comes from Louise."
But her influence wasn’t strictly contained to London. She was inspiration for many creatives from around the world who wanted to think outside the box. Kanye recognized, identified with, and respected her maverick attitude.
Below you can see the rapper wishing a happy birthday to Wilson during a performance at CSM in 2013.
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[via The Daily Mail]
