Richard Buckley, journalist and husband of designer Tom Ford, dies at 72

Phill Casaus, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read
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Sep. 22—Richard Buckley, longtime fashion journalist and husband of designer Tom Ford, died Monday night.

In a statement, Ford, a Santa Fe native, announced Buckley died at their home in Los Angeles of natural causes after a prolonged illness.

Ford and their son Jack were by Buckley's side, according to the announcement.

Buckley was 72.

Born in 1948 in Binghamton, N.Y., Buckley was raised in the U.S., France and Germany. He began his journalism career in 1979 at New York Magazine and worked as a fashion journalist for major fashion houses and other publications.

He returned to New York and was editor in chief of Scene magazine as well as senior fashion editor for WWD, also known as Women's Wear Daily.

He moved to Vanity Fair as its social editor before becoming the European editor for Mirabella magazine and contributing editor for Italian Vogue. He was editor in chief of Vogues Hommes International, based in Paris, from 1999 to 2005.

In a post on Instagram, designer Rachel Zoe paid tribute to Buckley, calling him a "gentleman of the greatest kind."

"To know him was an honor, to have had deep meaningful conversations with Richard was a gift I will hold tight forever," Zoe wrote. "He was brilliant, witty, unapologetically honest and so very elegant. What was most extraordinary about Richard was his true love and dedication to Tom and as a father to his son Jack."

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ford and Buckley had their son, Alexander John Buckley Ford, in 2012 and married on New Year's Eve on 2014.

Two years ago, Buckley told the New York Times he had surgery for throat cancer in 1989. In that interview, he noted their lives are not "all champagne and caviar" and talked openly about the battle with the disease.

"Tom has seen me through so much, from throat cancer to my brother and mother dying 48 hours apart, to more bouts of pneumonia than I can count," Buckley said.

Buckley and Ford had lived in Los Angeles, New York and Santa Fe in recent years. In describing what Buckley loved about Santa Fe, Ford said: "The smell, the sage, the piñons, the sky, the clouds, the dramatic thunderstorms. All of it."