The thousands of condolences highlighted not just Ward’s visionary talent, but also her sensitivity and generosity, qualities, it was often noted, that tend to go missing in the fashion industry. Here, the people who worked alongside her share their memories with Vogue.
“I’m so sad, because I didn’t know Melanie was ill—she was so young. This is life, but it is just hard to accept. She and I worked so well together, and I absolutely adored her; she was a great talent, and I’m not sure that the fashion world even knew how talented she really was. She came as part of a group of people that I started working with [in the Nineties] who were all from the UK. I brought over Dick Page for makeup and Guido Palau for hair, and of course that was the period of Kate Moss, and Melanie was right in there with them styling. She was extraordinary because she was in the true sense what a stylist should be or should have been; most are not very creative, or very conscious of what the designer is trying to say. Her eye…she was really like a designer more than a stylist. She was fantastic at putting clothes together. I mean, I worked also with [former Vogue fashion editor] Frances Stein for years, and they didn’t get any better than Frances. But Melanie fit into that category where she understood fabric, how fabric moved, how it needed to be used. She understood what we wanted to do [at Calvin Klein] and she brought something to it to make it even more exciting. People don’t know what it’s like to pull a collection together, the stress, and we’re all nervous about trying to make it as good as it can possibly be. And she was just as intense about the work as my whole team; she worked so hard. But she was always nice. Sometimes along the ride, it isn’t always so nice. People lose it. But Melanie never did. Honestly, other than Frances, I never worked with anyone as gifted as Melanie.”—Calvin Klein
“There are very few stylists of her calibre left in the world that know how to make clothes. I can’t emphasize the importance of knowing how to make clothes. She knew how to construct. It really makes a conversation happen between a designer and a stylist. It’s a conversation. She was also the kindest, sweetest, funniest. When you need someone to have a laugh with, Mel was def one of them. She involved every member of the team, from the most junior person to sitting with the designer, which is how we really worked.”—Kim Jones
#Calvin #Klein #Donatella #Versace #Dick #Page #Inez #Vinoodh #Remember #Melanie #Ward
