Wilson died suddenly, aged 52, in May 2014, 22 years into her tenure as leader of Britain’s pre-eminent fashion master’s course, where the professor was a mentor to students including Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo and Stella McCartney.
As the label Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz and Wilson’s former boss, Jane Rapley, detailed in their eulogies, Wilson was known for her quick wit, fierce passion and brutal honesty.
Rapley warmly remembered Wilson as a “marvellous monster” and said her death was “a horrible robbery” for those left behind. Elbaz described Wilson as his “tango partner” – a person he trusted completely. There were eulogies, too, from Wilson’s son, Timothy Wilson-Aggrey, and her friend, the hairstylist John Vidal.
As the congregation filed out and the bells of St Paul’s rang, a lone veiled horsewoman on a conker-coloured stallion stood guard, dressed in a sweeping black Victorian black gown. This eerie celebration of Wilson’s childhood love of horseriding was created by Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, and fashion editor Alister Mackie.
Milliner Stephen Jones and model Jade Parfitt after the memorial service. Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Milliner Stephen Jones and model Jade Parfitt after the memorial service. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
The memorial marked the formal launch of the Louise Wilson MA fashion fund, a scheme to enable talented students to study on the Central Saint Martins MA course regardless of their income.
This was an issue particularly close to Wilson’s heart, according to former student Christopher Kane. “Louise Wilson was one of the biggest influences on my life and career,” he said. “She spoke passionately about her views on education. She was a believer in all classes having access to arts education and not just privileged kids.
Designer Jonathan Saunders said: “She was very supportive of students who did not come from wealthy backgrounds. The only way I was able to study for an MA was because my fees were paid through the Scottish government – but I still had to pay my living costs.
“Louise allowed me to take a part-time job in a printing workshop, so I could use the facilities and print fabric there overnight. I couldn’t have afforded it any other way. She didn’t care about rules as long as the end result was the best work possible.”
Craig Green, the hotly tipped menswear designer who read a prayer at the memorial, said: “Funding is so important to protect what people like Louise were fighting for. Without that, I and a lot of other people from lower-income backgrounds would not have had the opportunity to do something creative on that level.”
She was a believer in all classes having access to arts education and not just privileged kids.
Christopher Kane
Wilson’s long-term colleague and successor at Central Saint Martins, Fabio Piras, estimates that postgraduate study now costs at least £25,000 a year, including living expenses. “There was a time,” he said, “where you felt that, whether you had money or not, a system was in place if you had the talent.
“But that system has become thinner and thinner and a lot of students give up before even starting. That has an absolutely devastating effect where you don’t have those wild horses.I wonder how many people like McQueen, or of that ilk, are now falling out of the system.”
A horsewoman in an outfit designed by Sarah Burton stands outside the cathedral. Facebook Twitter Pinterest
A horsewoman in an outfit designed by Sarah Burton stands outside the cathedral. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
Significant donations have already been made to the fund: a scholarship programme in memory of designer L’Wren Scott, donated by Mick Jagger, and another by Christopher Kane.
Advertisement
Wilson was a towering figure in the industry. So emblematic did she become of fashion education that, when Kanye West wanted to study fashion design in the late 2000s, it was Wilson’s advice he sought. She famously brokered the deal that enabled the Central Saint Martins master’s show to be part of the London Fashion Week schedule, a unique honour for an MA course. The last of the students who studied directly under her will show their work on Friday night, although her influence will be felt for years to come.
“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,” said Saunders. “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.”
As Wilson said of her students in 2008, in typically caustic style : “When they first arrive, really, my eyes bleed! It’s only when they’re about to leave that they become people you might want to know.”
From Kane’s highly anticipated show on Monday to those from Roksanda, Marques Almeida, Simone Rocha, Mary Katrantzou and many others, she would surely be delighted to see them all this week, ruling the catwalks.
sourse by /theguardian.com/
0 comments:
Post a Comment