LONDON — Catherine Walker, the French-born, London-based designer whose clients included Princess Diana and Joely Richardson, died Thursday after a long battle with breast cancer at a hospital in Sussex, England, her family said Sunday. She was 65.
Walker was educated in France and moved to London, where she met her husband, a solicitor. She began working in fashion in 1976, a year after he was killed in an accident, and in 1977 she opened her atelier in London’s Chelsea.
Walker was known for her bespoke workmanship and her draped and embellished designs. She was both a tailor and a dressmaker, and created wedding gowns for customers including Lady Helen Taylor. She was awarded Designer of the Year for Couture in 1990 and Designer of the Year for Glamour in 1991, by the British Fashion Council.
“She never worked within the conventional mold; She had no formal training, shunned the limelight throughout her career, and never showed her collections on the runway,” according to a family statement.
Her professional relationship with Princess Diana began a few months after Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles in 1981, and lasted until Diana’s death.
A tall, serious woman, Walker was uncomfortable with the limelight being Diana’s designer brought her. She loved talking about the craftsmanship and details of her clothes, but was equally eager to discuss books, the theater or current affairs..
The business will continue Before her death, Walker had handpicked and trained a new design team under the name Catherine Walker & Co.
A family funeral service will be held this week, and a memorial service will be held in a month’s time, the family said. Walker is survived by two daughters.