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.
