Fashion journalist Richard Buckley, whose career took him from New York Magazine to Daily News Record (DNR), Vanity Fair, Mirabella, and Vogue Hommes International, has died. Buckley, the husband of CFDA Chairman Tom Ford, passed away on Sunday at the age of 72.
“It is with great sadness that Tom Ford announces the death of his beloved husband of 35 years, Richard Buckley,” a statement from Tom Ford International said. “Richard passed away peacefully at their home in Los Angeles last night with Tom and their son Jack by his side. He died of natural causes after a long illness.”
Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Buckley grew up in the U.S., France, and Germany and started his journalistic career at New York Magazine in 1979. Three years later, he moved to Paris to be the European editor of DNR, and in 1986, Buckley returned to New York at editor-in-chief of a new magazine called Scene. After stints at Vanity Fair and Mirabella magazine, he was named editor in chief of Vogue Hommes International.
On Tuesday morning, fellow fashion journalists and friends posted tributes to Buckley on social media, pointing to his loyalty as a friend, his incomparable wit and grace, a little wicked streak, and the handsome elegance marked by his piercing blue eyes.
“I shall miss your sparky but thoughtful letters,” Suzy Menkes wrote. “I shall miss your dry wit. And you.”
“Richard was a professional inspiration to me, but he was also a hell of a good friend and I’ll be laughing forever about wicked things he said,” Tim Blanks said.
Stella McCartney put it perfectly: “What a gentle man; grace and charm filled the room when he was in it. His intellect and passion for knowledge always blew me away, and the sparkle in his eyes dove so deep into your heart each time you were blessed enough to feel it.”
Buckley met Ford at a mutual friend’s fashion show in 1986. Buckley recalled this with humor while presenting his husband with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York.
After making his way to the podium with a delightful spring in his step, he said, “If there is anyone who should be getting that award tonight, it should be me for living with him and his career for the past 27 years.”
He first met Ford when the designer was an assistant at Cathy Hardwick when they went out on November 25th, 1986. When Ford told him that within 10 years, he would be a millionaire and showing his collections in Europe, Buckley – a seasoned journalist who had seen many businesses go in and out of business – recalled his reaction: “I looked across the table at him and thought, ‘you poor thing, you are so naïve.’”
Ford retorted, “It is in fact he who deserves this award and I would not be standing here today without him.”
After years in Milan, Paris, and London, Buckley and Ford most recently lived in Los Angeles, New York, and Santa Fe.
Richard Buckley is survived by his husband, Tom Ford, as well as their son, Alexander John Buckley Ford.
