Stylist Amy Spindler Dies At 40

[Scott]

Amy M. Spindler, New York Times style editor, dies at 40

February 28, 2004, 7:39 AM EST
NEW YORK (AP) _ Amy M. Spindler, the style editor for The New York Times Magazine, died Friday at her home in Manhattan. She was 40.
Spindler died from a brain tumor, her husband Roberto Benabib said.
Spindler built a reputation as a tough reporter of fashion who was not afraid to tell the truth. Unlike other fashion reporters who were prone to flattery and sympathetic reviews, Spindler dared to demand more from designers in columns that could be both witty and tart.
Designers responded favorably. Tom Ford, the creative director of Gucci, told the Times, "She explained to us how we really feel about fashion."
In addition to pointed criticism of clothing lines, Spindler also exposed unflattering industry trends.
In 1997, after Davide Sorrenti, a promising young fashion photographer died from a drug overdose, Spindler upbraided magazine editors for promoting "heroin chic" on their pages.
"What Mr. Sorrenti's death has revealed is that fashion photography is indeed a mirror of the tight-knit world that produces the photographs. And as long as drugs are unchecked in the industry, that image will be difficult to change," Spindler wrote.
Spindler was born in Michigan City, Ind., and graduated from Indiana University with a degree in journalism. She then moved to New York and worked in entry-level jobs at several Conde Nast magazines.
She moved to Paris and became associate fashion editor of W Europe. In 1993 the joined The New York Times as a columnist.
A year later she was named fashion critic. In 1998 she became fashion editor of The Times Magazine, a position she relinquished in November.

This is the saddest.

 

[foxinthesnow]

Oh wow I didn't know it had returned.
That is really very sad.

 

[leyla m.]

 

[Scott]

Fox,in November I believe they discovered the tumour and then afterward she left 'The Times' and was said to be getting chemo treatments. The first time,btw,she had breast cancer

 

[HBoogie]

That's terrible.

May she rest in peace.

 

[foxinthesnow]

Originally posted by Scott@Feb 28th, 2004 - 1:32 pm
Fox,in November I believe they discovered the tumour and then afterward she left 'The Times' and was said to be getting chemo treatments. The first time,btw,she had breast cancer

Ah, thanks scott. I hadn't really recalled the details. I just remember an piece she did on wigs and life after chemo and she seemed so happy to be in remission...

 

[softgrey]

holy crap!!!!!!~!!!!!!!!!!!

how incredibly terrifying and sad...

that is insane! i have never known so many huge changes to happen in this business so close together...what's next...Anna Wintour Retires?

 

[Scott]

Originally posted by softgrey@Feb 28th, 2004 - 6:24 pm
holy crap!!!!!!~!!!!!!!!!!!

how incredibly terrifying and sad...

that is insane! i have never known so many huge changes to happen in this business so close together...what's next...Anna Wintour Retires?

It seems everybody is dying lately....the revolutionaries,the ones who had the balls to change the way people thought. I will always,ALWAYS regard Amy Spindler(aside from the person she worked alongside in Cathy Horyn)as someone who thought about fashion. She questioned things and made up her own interpretations and thoughts, rather than following, which as a journalist in fashion...its really quite a brave thing to do. And in America,no less...since you never see such reporting ANYWHERE!

Fox*,its sad how much she's gone through over the years. I hope for fashion's sake,this woman will always be deemed an icon. Like Liz Tilberis or Helmut Newton because I do think she made that big of an impact.

 

[ignitioned32]

 

[tiffany]

that's absolutely awful r.i.p.

 

[Spacemiu]

wow very sad

 

[metal-on-metal]

I really loved her. She was so funny and ballsy. She will be missed.

 

[Oria]

She will be missed , thanks for sharing this information

 

[Atelier]

From today's WWD.

SPINDLER MEMORIAL PLANS: The late Amy M. Spindler will be memorialized at an event on April 25, scheduled on the night preceding the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit. About 400 guests are expected at the invitation-only event, to be held at the Rainbow Room. Spindler, the former style editor of The New York Times Magazine and a longtime fashion critic at the paper, died on Feb. 27 from a malignant brain tumor.

 

[Scott]

That's great. She certainly deserves it.

Thank you Atelier*