Legendary British designer Joe Casely-Hayford has died at 62
Legendary British fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford has died at the age of 62 following a three-year battle with cancer.
Casely-Hayford, who was educated at The Tailor & Cutter Academy, St Martin's School Of Art and the ICA, came to prominence in the 1980s when his clothes found favour with a variety of musicians from The Clash, Lou Reed, Jarvis Cocker, Liam Gallagher and Take That.
He first began designing under the label KIT, which produced clothes made from recycled WWII army tents and which he sold to specialist boutiques such as Soho's Demob. His own label was launched in 1984 and was sold in some of the world's most prestigious retailers from Joseph in London to Bloomingdales in New York.
Casely-Hayford also wrote and styled features for style bibles such as The Face and i-D and led the way for designer-high street tie-ups when he was approached to design a collection for Topshop. In the mid-2000s he acted as creative director of Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes. He was awarded an OBE in 2007.
Latterly he established the Casely-Hayford brand with son Charlie, also a designer and stylist, and the pair opened a flagship store on Chiltern Street in October of last year. His daughter Alice Casely-Hayford is digital editor of British Vogue.
The loss of a much-loved and respected pioneer of British fashion on the eve of London Fashion Week Men's will be felt keenly throughout the industry.
British GQ editor in chief and chair of London Fashion Week Men's Dylan Jones led the tributes with an Instagram post saying the designer was an inspiration to a whole generation.
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