It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved colleague, Ms Basia Szkutnicka, in mid-March. To honour and celebrate her life and achievements, ITC organised a memorial service for Basia on 31 March at Hotel ICON. Apart from her friends and colleagues who attended the service in person, over 100 people from all over the world who could not travel and say their farewell in person joined the service via Zoom.
Prof. Fan delivers an opening speech.
During the service, Prof. Jintu Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, delivered the opening speech: “For Basia, the journey is now beginning. But for us, there is loss, grief and pain. Every one of us here has been affected - perhaps in small ways, or perhaps in transformative ones- by Basia. Her life mattered to us all.”
Some close friends of Basia, including Hannah Svensson, Sean Chiles, Kristina Shin, Eleanor Warrington, Julia Gaimster, Elizabeth McClafferty, Basia Zamorska, Julia Robson and Elinor Renfrew paid tribute to her through their eulogy. Ryan Houlton, Deputy Head of the Programme for MA Fashion & Textiles Design, and a close working partner of Basia, ended the service with a closing speech. A tribute video called ‘The Time Warp’ from one of Basia’s favorite films, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, was shown.
Mr Ryan Houlton ends the service with a closing speech.
Basia had made important contributions to the fashion industry. She was a passionate educator and a visionary thinker and influencer in fashion education. She will be fondly remembered by all of us.
