Fashion editor Richard Buckley, the husband of designer Tom Ford, has died at the age of 72, consistent with a press release issued by representatives of Ford’s eponymous fashion brand.
“It is with great sadness that Tom Ford announces the death of his beloved husband of 35 years, Richard Buckley,” Ford’s representatives said within the statement sent to CNN Style.
“Richard gave up the ghost peacefully at their range in l. a. last night with Tom and their son Jack by his side. He died of natural causes after a protracted illness.”
Buckley was a titan of the style media world and served as editor-in-chief of Vogue Hommes International for 6 years before stepping down in 2005. With a career spanning over 25 years, he held numerous coveted positions within the industry, including fashion editor at Women’s Wear Daily, social editor at lifestyle, and European editor of the now-defunct Mirabella magazine. He also contributed to titles like Italian Vogue and NY Magazine. consistent with an obituary by his former publication, Women’s Wear Daily, Buckley had a “diligent, soft-spoken manner that endeared him to almost everyone he met.”
The outlet added he had a keen eye for spotting menswear trends several seasons before they hit the runway. In 2016, Ford told Jess Cagle how it had been “love initially sight” when he first saw Buckley in an elevator at a fashion show in 1986. At the time, Buckley was a fashion editor for Women’s Wear Daily, consistent with the publication. Ford had yet to become a household name, working under sportswear designer Cathy Hardwick.
Their relationship began as a whirlwind, consistent with Ford, who told Cagle: “By the time that elevator landed on the bottom floor I assumed, ‘You’re the one.’ That’s it. Click. Sold.”
Buckley and Ford went on to become a fashion couple within the 1990s after Ford was hired at Gucci as a womenswear designer in 1990 and promoted to creative director in 1994. The pair lived and worked in fashion capitals around the world throughout their relationship, including stints in Milan and Paris. that they had their son in September 2012 and married in 2014.
