Ed Filipowski, one of America's top fashion PR experts, dies at 58
“He leaves a legacy as a champion of the fashion industry with his unbridled optimism and spirit, and we will forever be grateful for his visionary leadership.”
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Ed Filipowski, co-founder of the U.S. fashion PR firm KCD and a leading fashion PR expert in the industry, died last Friday at the age of 58 at his home in New York City. Filipowski is said to have undergone surgery last December, which led to a series of complications.
Ed Filipowski was the co-founder and chief strategist of KCD (Keeble Cavaco & Duka), a leading fashion PR agency in New York, and was the "hidden hand" behind many fashion brands and designers' runway events, such as the Marc Jacobs show in September 2001. Jacobs' runway show and fragrance launch in September 2001; Tom Ford's last runway show for Gucci in Milan in 2004; and the Tommy Hilfiger x Gigi co-branded "Show and Buy" show at South Street Seaport in 2016. " runway show at South Street Seaport in 2016.
A renowned fashion public relations expert in the industry, Filipowski has trained many of KCD's talented staff and PR specialists, many of whom have also been responsible for many of the major runways in London, Milan, New York and Paris.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Ed Filipowski," KCD said via Instagram, "his optimism and vision will always be admired and we will always remember him."
Born in Pittsburgh and a journalism graduate of Northwestern University in Illinois, Ed Filipowski came to New York in the early 1980s and founded KCD in 1984 with industry-renowned stylist Kezia Keeble, New York Times fashion editor John Duka, Paul Cavaco and Julie Mannion. Co-founder John Duka died in 1989 and Kezia Keeble died in 1990, and Paul Cavaco left the company in 1991 to join Allure magazine as creative director.
Since then, Ed Filipowski and Julie Mannion have been at the helm of KCD, which has grown rapidly with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London, and strategic partnerships with clients such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton and many others. In 2010, KCD also launched a digital division to provide broader digital services to brands such as Anna Sui, Far fetch and Kate Spade.
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KCD has always focused its business on fashion, and Filipowski has said, "We made a clear decision in the early 90s that we wanted to focus on fashion and not break into new areas. We didn't want to do hotels, we didn't want to do food, although in those days those areas were so lucrative that it seemed hard to say no."
It was also KCD that made headphones standard at a runway show where models walked the runway coolly in chic black suits reminiscent of Agent Smith's character in “The Matrix”. Filipski's idea was to have them fade into the background, reflecting his ascetic and transcendent aesthetic. Mr. Filipski feels successful for his collaboration with Helmut Lang, the industry standard for urban minimalism in the late 1990s.
Many of his business associates knew little about his personal life. Ms. Wintour said his ability to recede was part of his gift. “For someone who preferred to be behind the scenes,” she said, “he was at the center of absolutely everything.”