Getty
Isabel Toledo, the fashion designer who designed Michelle Obama’s first Inauguration dress, has died. Toledo was 59 years old at the time of her death; the cause was breast cancer, according to The New York Times.
Per the publication, Toledo died at a hospital in Manhattan on Monday. Her husband, artist Ruben Toledo, confirmed her death and cause of death to The Times. Toledo’s studio also confirmed the cause of death to Page Six, though neither sources offered up any further information about how long she had been battling breast cancer.
Toledo is known for designing Obama’s 2009 inaugural coat and dress, but her legacy spans much farther than that moment. Here’s what you need to know:
The Fashion World Mourns Toledo’s Death
The fashion world has lost today a rainbow of talent and joy. RIP my friend Isabel Toledo. You and your husband Ruben inspired of all us. You created magic and showed us how love is the most powerful tool to create fantasy. Today is a sad day (1/2)
Across the globe, those familiar with Toledo’s work in fashion are mourning the surprise loss of such an icon. An obituary for Toledo in Vogue reads,
Isabel and her husband Ruben, an artist, were collaborators—and one of New York’s most original duos—for four decades. (In fact they were born in Cuba a year and a day apart, and met in high school in New Jersey.) Together they won the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for their work in fashion in 2005. Their most recent project was an exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). A showcase for the relationship between fashion and art, Labor of Love was an installation of new sculptures, paintings, and drawings that they created together, using the DIA’s collection as inspiration.
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology paid tribute to Toledo in a tweet: “We are so deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the brilliant fashion designer, Isabel Toledo. Born in Cuba in 1961, Isabel lived and worked — inseparably — with her husband Ruben. Our thoughts are with Ruben.”
Toledo and her husband, Ruben, were often considered to be the most creative and successful power couple in the world of art. An excerpt of her autobiography, Roots of Style: Weaving Together Life, Love, and Fashion, as acquired by The Cut, depicts just what a profound romance she shared with her husband. Toledo wrote,
“Love was the guiding light that introduced me at a young age to my husband, the artist and illustrator Ruben Toledo, who fell in love at first sight with a shy dreamer of a girl. I fell in love with Ruben’s art first. It took another four years for me to reciprocate and realize that this kid was the love of my life. While I was busy playing, sewing, dancing, and growing up, I discovered that Ruben was the missing link, in the best possible sense of those words. Love is often the missing link in life. Once that element flowers, the rest of life seems to flow along.”