Vince Camuto’s fingerprints are on tons of stuff in your closet, from his eponymous shoe, handbag and clothing line to footwear licensing agreements with brands like Tory Burch, Banana Republic and BCBG Max Azria. So when he died of cancer at 78 Wednesday, the fashion industry felt the loss acutely — including Jessica Simpson, whose multimillion dollar fashion empire is owned by Camuto’s company. She took to Instagram to share a photograph and tribute.
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Along with a photo of herself with the designer and his wife Louise, she wrote: “‘It is never about one person. It’s the teams you put in place. Without the right people, you’re nowhere.’ -Vince Camuto. Thank you, Vince, for the humble power that has taken me everywhere. You are my mentor, my family, the creator of all my dreams. I will forever walk in your shoes … you made them. #brokenheart”
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According to WWD, Camuto was one of the founding partners of the Nine West group in 1978, which he sold for nearly $900 million in 1999. Not content with that achievement, he founded the Vince Camuto group in 2001 and by 2005 had several of his own signature lines, as well as licensing deals with a wide variety of brands. Just this week, celebs including Jennifer Lopez, Emily Blunt and Victoria Justice wore his pieces — and he was a style editor favorite, too!
Do you own Camuto’s pieces? Did you realize what a huge impact he had on the fashion community? Share below.
–Alex Apatoff
