Catherine Walker, celeb fashion designer
LONDON - Fashion designer Catherine Walker, whose work was championed by late Princess Diana, has died, her family said yesterday. She was 65.
LONDON - Fashion designer Catherine Walker, whose work was championed by late Princess Diana, has died, her family said yesterday. She was 65.
Born in France, Walker found fame after moving to Britain and is best known for creating some of Diana's most famous outfits. The princess was buried in a black dress created by Walker.
The designer studied philosophy in her native France, before she moved to London where she married lawyer John Walker, who died in 1975.
Walker was left to raise their two daughters alone, enrolling in a fashion course and eventually building a successful business.
"Catherine Walker overcame young widowhood and fought cancer twice with enduring bravery," her family said in a statement yesterday. "She built one of the most successful British couture brands and at the same time raised a loving family."
The family said their mother had "dressed many of the world's most beautiful women," since she first sold garments in 1976, offering her designs from a basket as she walked up and down the Kings Road shopping district in London's Chelsea neighborhood.
Walker, who had suffered from breast cancer, also designed a wedding dress for Lady Helen Taylor - the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
A memorial service is expected to take place next month.