28 January,2012 07:55 AM IST | | Agencies
Amy Winehouse's grieving dad Mitch hit out at designer Jean Paul Gaultier accusing him of cashing in on the late singer's death by using her as the inspiration for his latest catwalk show. Mitch said the catwalk 'tribute' at Paris Fashion Week came as a "total shock".
The ex-cabbie accused Gaultier of cashing in on Amy's death with a "bad taste" fashion show. Mitch said the singer's family was devastated by pictures of catwalk models smoking and wearing the singer's trademark beehive hairdos and heavy eyeliner.
Too soon: Amy Winehouse's father said that the fashion show by
Gaultier was just a gimmick to make more money. Pic/AFP
Wednesday's show at Paris Fashion Week came just two days after the half-year anniversary of her death -- and Mitch said it portrayed Amy at her worst. He said, "The family was upset to see those pictures, they were a total shock. We're still grieving for her loss, and we've had a difficult week with the six-month anniversary of Amy's death. To see her image lifted wholesale to sell clothes was a wrench we were not expecting or consulted on."
He added, "We're proud of her influence on fashion but find black veils on models, smoking cigarettes with a barbershop quartet singing her music in bad taste. It portrays a view of Amy when she was not at her best, and glamorises some of the more upsetting times in her life. That's upsetting for her family."
Mitch added: "No one asked us for permission or offered to make a donation to the foundation. This is purely about Gaultier making money, and that's wrong."u00a0 Gaultier claimed the catwalk show was a "tribute" to the singer. He said afterwards, "She was an icon of fashion and truly, the sense of how she mixed the clothes -- it was great. It was very eighties but did it in a very modern way. It is very joyous."
