Fashion designer Stephen Linard dies age of 64

London designer Stephen Linard has died at the age of 64. This was reported by Linard’s family to WWD, who said he died on 10 March due to throat cancer. Linard designed clothes for big stars such as David Bowie, the members of U2 and Boy George in the 1980s.

Linard is considered a pioneer in creating different personas through clothes. Besides designing clothes, he was also creative with “hair, make-up and attitude,” Stephen Jones, a friend of Linard’s, told the media outlet. Linard was a strong influence on the style of Blitz Kids, a group of people who attended Blitz’s Tuesday club night in Covent Garden in London in 1979-1980.

They are considered the founders of the ‘New Romantic’ movement, a subculture with a quirky style inspired by punk and glamour. “He was the first person who saw clothes as a ‘story’ – this was before John Galliano – and had a visual interpretation of fashion. It was the era of MTV, i-D and The Face and he was a stylist for those magazines,” Jones added.

On social media, people reacted mournfully to the news of Linard’s death. “I will never forget Stephen, [he had] a life dedicated to art,” artist Brian Clarke responded under Stephen’s most recent post on Instagram.