I was sad to hear Brazilian accessories designer Carlos Falchi died Friday night at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., following a short illness. I had the great pleasure of meeting the designer and his daughter Kate in Chicago when Macy’s was celebrating Brasil with a campaign in 2012. Read my interview with Carlos Falchi here.
Carlos Falchi began his career in the late Sixties as an artist living in Greenwich Village, making his own clothes from patchwork leather that he bleached and dyed in his bathtub. His designs quickly were seen on artists and musicians like Patti Smith, Miles Davis, Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. Then he met with Henri Bendel’s president at the time, Geraldine Stutz, and it was the bag in which Falchi carried his ready-to-wear that attracted her attention. This prompted him to get into accessories. He would stick with accessories for the remainder of his career and was well known for his patchwork patterned handbags that sold at department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Henri Bendel. Neiman Marcus played an important role in both Falchi’s professional and personal lives since the designer met his wife Missy while she was working in the store’s special events office. In addition to his wife Missy and daughter Kate, the chief designer and president of Carlos Falchi Couture, Falchi is survived by another daughter, Juliet, a manager of Global Product Innovation at Estée Lauder.
– Carol Calacci
Source: WWD
Photos: WWD, Second City Style