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The Winehouse family recently arrived upon the six-month anniversary of daughter Amy Winehouse‘s death. And although some people suggested that her father was cashing in on Amy’s death with a tell-all book, his reactions to a Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show in Paris suggest otherwise. The designer paid homage to the singer with a very Winehouse-inspired look as models sauntered down the runway in tall black beehives and winged eyes to her music. However, Mitch Winehouse found the tribute far from endearing.
Following the fashion show, the grieving father tweeted:
“We don’t support the Jean Paul Gaultier collection. It’s in bad taste.”
He also mentioned to another publication that he and his family were “shocked” and “devastated” to see their daughter’s likeness used to sell clothes, adding that the chain-smoking on stage “glamorizes some of the more upsetting times in her life.” Mitch also said that no one from Jean Paul Gaultier’s team approached him about donating any proceeds to The Amy Winehouse Foundation, which the family erected in her memory to help troubled young people. Mitch has said on the record that he intends to funnel all the money from his book into the foundation.
Gaultier has responded to the criticisms attesting that his intentions were meant be honorary. The Daily Mail reports him as saying:
“She was an icon of fashion and truly, the sense of how she mixed the clothes – it was great.”
But regardless of good intentions, hijacking the image of a daughter from her newly grieving parents without approaching the family or the foundation is “in bad taste.” And even if Jean Paul Gaultier meant to praise Amy’s fashion sense, he would do well to acknowledge that she was also a woman with many demons. So even if she knew how to pair a pencil skirt with a busty blouse, there are other components of her life that shouldn’t be dubbed fashionable.
(photo: dailymail.co.uk)
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do you even know who jean paul gaultier is? if i was winehouse parents i would be so honored if gaultier did a tribute like this to my own daughter… but no.. no one ever say thanks… piss me off
“He’s like a totally important designer.”
Co-opting someone’s life and disregarding other people’s pain is a-ok so long as you make overpriced clothes that don’t even look good on the models. Maybe he should say thanks since he’ll probably make a tidy profit off of exploiting her memory.
Well said, Jen. She may have been a celebrity worth writing about but does anybody ever consider the impact of these stories and ‘tributes’ on the families left behind?
I agree with the Winehouse family. I also think it’s less than honest to suggest that Winehouse was a “fashion icon”. Sure she had a very definite style, but she more often looked like a mess (because she generally WAS a mess) than a diva. I think it’s actually rather wonderful that her family is being so open about their daughter’s demons–especially because they clearly tried to help her many times–and I think that both their frankness and their foundation can do a lot of good. Gaultier, on the other hand, just comes off like an exploiting jerk.