Designer Tom Ford’s husband no more

Fashion world mourns the death of Richard Buckley, fashion editor-in-chief of Vogue Hommes International

Richard was known in the industry for his clairvoyance about fashion trends. A keen connoisseur of men’s fashion, he is supposed to have predicted fashion “several seasons in advance.”

A veteran fashion editor who’d made a mark in the field with his mild manners and the positions he held over his 25 years in the industry, died peaceful at his Los Angeles home at the age of 72. Richard, who was suffering from a prolonged illness, was surrounded by his loved ones, including his husband of 35 years, fashion designer Tom Ford and their son, Alexander John Buckley Ford.

A statement released by Tom Ford’s representative read, “It is with great sadness that Tom Ford announces the death of his beloved husband of 35 years, Richard Buckley. Richard passed away peacefully at their home in Los Angeles last night with Tom and their son Jack by his side.” Born in 1948 to an Armed Forces family, in Binghamton, New York, Richard graduated

TOM FORD, WHO OWNS HIS EPONYMOUS FASHION LABEL, HAD SUPPOSEDLY MET RICHARD IN A LIFT IN 1986 DURING A FASHION SHOW HOSTED BY DAVID CAMERON, A MUTUAL FRIEND. APPARENTLY, RICHARD AND TOM FELL IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. THE DUO GOT MARRIED IN 2014.

from the University of Maryland in Munich. He found joy in the world of fashion and in 1979, began contributing to New York magazine. Then in 1982, he served as fashion editor at Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) following which he edited for a Fairchild publication in Paris, the Daily News Record, a men’s magazine. Then in 1988, he joined Vanity Fair as its social editor and in 1999, Richard went on to become the editor-in-chief of Vogue Hommes International, where he served for 6 years till he resigned from his job in 2005.

Richard was known in the industry for his clairvoyance about fashion trends. A keen connoisseur of men’s fashion, he is supposed to have predicted fashion “several seasons in advance,” as per his obituary in WWD. Tom Ford, who owns his eponymous fashion label, had supposedly met Richard in a lift in 1986 during a fashion show hosted by David Cameron, a mutual friend. Apparently, Richard and Tom fell in love at first sight. The duo got married in 2014, after they had their son in 2012 through gestational surrogacy. In a 2011 interview, Richard had said of Tom, “Tom’s the perfect modern gentleman.”

While it is not clear what Richard’s prolonged illness was, it is learnt that the late fashion veteran had been first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1988.