In Memoriam: Elio Fiorucci
Elio Fiorucci — who died this week, aged 80, of unknown causes — championed a neo-glamour with a wink and a nudge throughout the 70s and 80s. Not only was he an early pioneer of the cheeky, bold, bright style that came to define the over-the-top 80s look, but he transformed his stores in Milan, London, Beverly Hills, and especially New York into creative hotspots, where celebrities and the demimondaine would collide in performances and happenings. The NY outlet became known as the ‘daytime Studio 54,’ where the likes of Andy Warhol, Cher, Jackie Onassis, Liza Minnelli, Keith Haring, Grace Jones, and Klaus Nomi mingled.
The mild-mannered Italian became such a sensation that he was namechecked in a Sister Sledge song and in Mark Leckey’s cult 1999 club-culture film Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (which coincidentally was the inspiration for Raf Simons’ spring 2016 collection). From signature stretch jeans to campy ad campaigns, here are some of Fiorucci’s choice moments…
