Designer Jean Paul Gaultier said he felt "compelled to celebrate [Amy Winehouse's] style" in his latest spring-summer 2012 couture show, but the late singer's family certainly doesn't appreciate the tribute.
On Wednesday, during Paris Fashion Week, Gaultier fashioned his models in the late singer's look, complete with beehive hairdos, dramatic winged eyeliner, cigarettes and even Monroe-like facial moles.
"She was so exceptional in her style; how she held her body; the way she dressed, mixing pieces from different decades," Gaultier told The New York Times of his late muse.
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But Winehouse's father, Mitch, said his family was "in total shock" to see the runway photos, according to The Sun.
"We're still grieving for her loss, and we've had a difficult week with the six-month anniversary of Amy's death," Mitch, 60, told The Sun. "To see her image lifted wholesale to sell clothes was a wrench we were not expecting or consulted on."
Mitch said that though the family is proud of Winehouse's influence on fashion, they thought it in "bad taste" to portray models smoking cigarettes and donning black veils while a "barbershop quartet" sang his daughter's music on the runway:
"It portrays a view of Amy when she was not at her best, and glamorizes some of the more upsetting times in her life. That's upsetting for her family."
The multiple-Grammy winner passed away at the age at 27 on July 23. Since her death, the singer-songwriter's unique fashion has been mentioned in numerous tributes. Gaultier's show, however, was the first Fashion Week event to pay homage to Winehouse.
Earlier this year, Mitch created the Amy Winehouse Foundation to help young people struggling with illness, addiction and disabilities. The designer did not offer to make a donation to the foundation, said Mitch, who added "This is purely about Gaultier making money, and that's wrong."
TODAY