RIP Amy

Amy by Hedi Slimane, July 2007

I was incredibly sad to hear about the tragic passing of Amy Winehouse such a huge talent but such troubled soul. I remember seeing a picture of her when she released Frank, looking all vampy and buxom yet still somewhat fresh faced and thought she looked like a real style icon in the making.

And it was so - many magazines emulated her style (see below), a mix of rockabilly, vamp and 50's rock chick. In 2007, Karl Lagerfeld said of Amy:“She is a style icon. She is a beautiful, gifted artist. And I very much like her hairdo. I took it as an inspiration. Because, in fact, it was also Brigitte Bardot’s hairdo in the late Fifties and Sixties. And now Amy has made it her own style. So, when I saw her, I knew it was the right moment. Amy…she is the new Brigitte.”

Isabelli Fontana as Amy by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue France 2008

Faux Amy by Ellen Von Unwerth for Candy Magazine, 2010Adrian Lima as Amy for LOVE magazine

Numero Magazine faux Amy, 2007

When I heard 2006's Mark Ronson-produced Back to Black, as everyone else, I couldn't believe that this soulful powerhouse of a voice was coming out of such a little body. A voice that Russell Brand describes in his brilliantly insightful yet moving tribute as "A voice that was filled with such power and pain that it was at once entirely human yet laced with the divine. " You Know I'm No Good is one of my favorite songs. When Amy worked with and modeled for Fred Perry last year I was heartened to see her looking healthy and happy, seemingly beginning to escape the vice grip of her demons and addiction.

Amy for Fred Perry Collection, 2010

She was so excited to be involved in the collection. These excerpts are taken from her interview with Harper's Bazaar, with accompanying photo shoot by Bryan Adams (yes, Bryan 'Everything I do for You' Adams - who is a pretty great photographer). She spoke to Harper's Bazaar about the collaboration, below.

Amy Winehouse by Bryan Adams

"I knew exactly what I wanted. And I love Fred Perry so much. I was honored that they would even, like, 'Do you want to come and do a line?' Me? Like, me?" She stabs a finger into her chest. "Yeah!" she adds...

Okay. Do you consider yourself a style icon?

"A style, like, what?"

A style icon, I repeat.

"Style, like ... ?"

Icon!

"No, of course not!"

But you are! People have altered the way they look as a consequence of your look. Tattoos have gained new currency; heavy eyeliner is widely imitated.

"Uh-huh. I don't think that's true. I just dress like ... I'm an old black man. Sorry!" she says. "Like I'm an old Jewish black man. I just dress like it's still the '50s."

Fred Perry Collection, October 2010

Sadly, the interview closed with this question: "And do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?

"Nope!" she says. "If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl."

Hedi Slimane, July2007

Rest in Peace Amy.