The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — The family of Louise Wilson has issued a statement following the death, the week before last, of the legendary fashion professor who moulded the careers of designers like Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane:
The family of Professor Louise Wilson OBE expresses deep gratitude for the many condolences they have received in appreciation of her immense life’s work.
A private family funeral will be held in Scotland.
A memorial to celebrate her life and many achievements will be arranged in London for later in the year.
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A fund to honour Professor Louise Wilson’s profound belief in access to fashion education is to be announced in due course.
Wilson was the director of the Fashion MA course at London’s Central Saint Martins, widely regarded as the most prestigious fashion course in the world. She was famously forthright and blunt in her critique of her students, making no apologies for her punishing standards and rigorous appraisals. Yet she developed a special bond with those whose paths she guided.
"Louise Wilson played a remarkable role in making the British scene fashion as successful and relevant as it is today," said Alexandra Shulman, British Vogue's editor-in-chief. "Her teaching and influence made a mark on so many of our leading designers. I will miss her outspoken views and her clever and often very funny observations."
Wilson grew up in Scotland and attended art college before completing the Central Saint Martins course she now directs. She moved to Hong Kong following her graduation, finding work as both a consultant and a designer before returning to the UK to teach at Central Saint Martins, beginning her 20-plus-year professional association with the college.
Between 1997 and 1999, Wilson worked as design director at Donna Karan, who famously said of Wilson, "It was like going back to school myself. Louise trains and develops the best."
The BoF team offers its condolences to Wilson’s family, friends and former students.
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