Jean Paul Gaultier played homage to Amy Winehouse at his couture show last week. While many thought it was a positive tribute to the late singer, her family have publicly criticised the show for being "in bad taste".
"We're still grieving for her loss and we've had a difficult week with the six month anniversary of Amy's death," Winehouse's father Mitch told The Sun. "To see her image lifted wholesale to sell clothes was a wrench we were not expecting or consulted on" and "no one asked us for permission or offered to make a donation to the foundation."
After her passing, blogs and magazines were flooded with style tributes to Amy Winehouse celebrating her most influential style moments and now, one outfit in particular is attracting a lot of attention.
The Disaya dress that the late singer wore on the cover of her 'Black to Black' album will go on auction this month with all of the proceeds set to go directly to the charity established in her memory. "The moment I heard the unfortunate news the first thing that came into my mind was this dress," designer Disaya Sorakraikitikul told Vogue UK. "After the establishment of the foundation by her family, we decided with no hesitation to play a part in this charity. We want to generate positive value to her fans, and as the gown connected Disaya and Amy Winehouse together, we therefore decided to auction it and donate all the proceeds to Amy Winehouse Foundation."
The dress is expected to fetch between £10,000-£20,000 and will be sold as part of Kerry Taylor's Passion for Fashion auction at La Galleria, 30 Royal Opera Arcade in London.
She and Lee didn't get on. Lee had offended her at the party where I first met her and Amy never forgave him. When he sent her a dress to say sorry she put it on the barbecue. She also spat on one of his dresses at Selfridges which she had to pay for because she had soiled it. At first she refused then she just said, 'Fine - but tell Alexander McQueen I ruined his dress'."
”The singer's ex boyfriend, Archie Reed, told the Daily Mail
This week Fendi released an official statement on the death of Amy Winehouse but Fred Perry - who the singer designed for - has remained notably silent on the news.
Many have expected them to talk about the position of the three outstanding collaborations Winehouse was set to design for them but out of respect for the family they have decided to hold out from discussing business. In a statement released today a spokesperson from the brand said: "Fred Perry will not comment until a consultation with Amy's family and management has taken place."
Since the announcement of her death, sites like Fashionista have compiled galleries showing Amy Winehouse's influence in the fashion industry but until yesterday, no brand - even Fred Perry who the late singer designer for - has released a statement about her passing.
Fendi is the only brand that has commented, as they sent an official statement to WWD this week:
"We met Amy in Paris, fresh from having won five Grammys. That night, everyone discovered that in addition to a genius voice Amy also had an exceptional and very British sense of humor. Having restyled the Fendi dress she was wearing that night, she said with a wink: ‘Forgive my ignorance, I don’t know anything about fashion….’ We are very sad for the loss of such a unique talent that in many ways transcended music, fashion, and culture."
Their decision to comment makes sense. After all, Karl Lagerfeld took a liking to the singer and modeled his whole December 2007 show around her. "She's a style icon," he said after her performance at the Fendi store opening. "She’s not only a muse; she’s a genius. She’s one of the greatest voices today."
We're not sure if her new performance persona Sasha Fierce has anything to do with the change in Beyoncé, but we've noticed of late we've lost the natural bootilicious beauty to a seemingly Gaga inspired diva. Veering away from her usual au natural make-up, Beyoncé has been sporting 'drag queen make-up' (as dubbed by The Cut) for her past two videos, Telephone and Video Phone, and her latest delivery - Why Don't You Love Me - sees the starlet sporting a thick brow, eyeliner reminiscent of Winehouse and red lips.
Moving away from Gaga and channelling Daisy Duke, she goes on to accessorise some rather short denim hotpants with a tied checked shirt, headscarf and hold-ups. Add in a few graphics to the video alongside the styling and we're not entirely sure we recognise the irreplaceable Destiny's Child star that we loved so. Why does Jessica Simpson spring to mind..?
If there were ever a brand ambassador for Fred Perry these days - boys aside - it would have to be singer Amy Winehouse, who sports a thick sweep of black liquid eyeliner and a heavily coiffed beehive as her trademark, alongside an array of Fred Perry shirts and knitwear. So a 17-piece collaboration between the brand and Winehouse makes perfect sense. Rather than doing a traditional photoshoot for the collaboration, the heritage brand have chosen to create a series of illustrations, however as of yet only one has been leaked.
"Amy has been wearing Fred Perry for years, so we were aware that she was a genuine fan of the brand," explained Fred Perry's marketing director, Richard Martin. "We had three major design meetings where she was closely involved in product style selection and the application of fabric, colour and styling details...The range clearly has Amy's handwriting." From the retro-inspired jumper dress and height-enhancing hair synonymous with the singer that are evident in the illustration, we can fully agree. The collection will be available from October.
This really would be one for the books. If you believe the Daily Star, Amy Winehouse - or her dad, Mitch - is itching for a perfume deal a la Britney Spears and Kylie. Now I'll listen to 'Back to Black' on repeat for hours and not get tired of it, but I think I'll keep the Givenchy around for aroma purposes.
But anyway, an "insider" says: "Mitch is keen to licence Amy's name to a perfume house. He has been in talks with manufacturers and contacted PR firms for advice. They want it to reflect her style with a classic smoky 1950s look and smell."
Hmm. Another insider (ever notice how many of those gossip stories drag up?) from the perfume industry says heck no to all that. "Frankly," says the source, "she doesn't look like she smells all that nice, so doing some positive publicity to prove it doesn't just smell of stale booze and fags would be vital."
