In Memoriam: Remembering 5 Fashion Figures Lost in 2022

André Leon Talley was a treasure of the fashion world. The legendary fashion editor, who passed away on January 18, 2022, began his career at Brown University where he studied French Literature. Upon graduation, he apprenticed with former Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. From there, Talley began working at various publications—Interview Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, W, The New York Times, and Vogue. He was the first Black person to be Creative Director and Editor-at-Large for Vogue. He was also an accomplished author, and, in 2020, was awarded France's Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres on account of his services to the country’s culture. The fashion powerhouse is remembered for his encyclopedic knowledge of the industry which was strongly felt in his writings.

Thierry Mugler revolutionized fashion with his fusion of pop culture, kink, and inverted triangle silhouette, defining the '80s aesthetic. His outfits were sported by David Bowie, Kim Kardashian, and Cardi B, just to name a few. The spectacle of a catwalk was elevated by Mugler, he fused music and fashion and elevated the performance of showcasing his collections, making his designs instantly celebrated. Mugler went on to be appointed Artistic Director for Beyoncé’s I Am... World Tour, dressing Queen B as a woman and a warrior in a bejeweled gold leotard.

He is remembered for his fusion of S&M with high fashion and pioneering inclusivity on the catwalk. Latex and harnesses were some of the staples that would always appear in his designs, for example, when he dressed Kim Kardashian for the Met Gala in 2019, he dressed her in a wet-look dress. The French designer was also known for casting transgender models on his runways in the 1980s, making sure to spotlight members of the LGBTQ+ community throughout his career. Mugler passed away on January 23, 2022. 

Crowned as the prince of pleats, Issey Miyake passed away on August 5, 2022. He was renowned for his innovative pleated clothing and for dressing Steve Jobs—he gave him the iconic black turtleneck, Levi’s 501s, and New Balance 991s aesthetic, a look that eventually became the Silicon Valley uniform. With a career that spanned more than 50 years, the Japanese designer would always refer to his designs as “clothing” rather than “fashion,” moving away from the idea that his work was meant to fit into trends.

Miyake stood against fast fashion and the fashion cycle, instead promoting recycling as he wanted his customer to be able to wear his pieces from 10 years ago with his designs of today. Moreover, he saw technology not as a problem but as a solution to overproducing. He pioneered the idea of making clothes by cutting down waste with the use of a single tube of fabric and using a knitting machine. Today, some of his designs live permanently in museums, including the Museum of Modern Art.

Hanae Mori was a living legend of Japanese fashion who became the first Asian woman to be admitted to the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Her signature designs consisted of butterfly-adorned garments. Mori dressed some of the most high-profile figures in the world including Hilary Clinton, Grace Kelly, Bianca Jagger, and Crown Princess Michiko. A trailblazer in an industry dominated by white men, Mori introduced Eastern fashion and established her designs as classic pieces for the Western consumer. Mori passed away on August 11, 2022. 

After 60 decades of shaping the fashion industry, designer Vivienne Westwood died on December 29 in her London home with her family at age 81. Westwood was known for her work at the forefront of the British punk movement. Her store, SEX, was a hotspot for leaders of the punk scene such as the Sex Pistols, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux, and more. 

Outside of fashion, Westwood was also a dedicated political and climate activist. In a 2018 interview with L'OFFICIEL, Westwood said she always had a "political agenda": “I’ve used fashion to challenge the status quo.” She went on to explain that "politics and climate change are one and the same thing."