Jimmy Webb, punk fashion icon and stylist to a cohort of rock stars, has died at 62, reports Rolling Stone. Webb became a downtown fixture as the manager and buyer for East Village vintage store Trash and Vaudeville. In 2017, he opened his own rock and roll clothing boutique in the Lower East Side, I NEED MORE, where he worked until his death.
Webb counted as friends and helped outfit the likes of Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Joey Ramone, Slash, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan, Black Flag's Henry Rollins, New York Dolls' David Johansen and many more. The cause of death was cancer, his close friend, hair stylist Heart Montalbano confirmed to Rolling Stone. Tributes from Webb's friends and customers, remembering his charm, kindness and the skinny jeans he sold them, flooded in today as the news spread.
Trash and Vaudeville helped shape punk fashion in the 70's and 80's, popularizing Doc Martens, bullet belts, winklepicker boots, black jeans, motorcycle jackets and spiky jewelry. The shop's iconic original location on St. Marks — Vogue once called Webb "the reigning mayor of St Marks" notes Rolling Stone — controversially closed down in 2015. It relocated to 7th Street, grieve by many city dwellers as the final nail in New York counter-culture's coffin.
Photographer Dustin Pittman, a close friend of Webb's for 30 years and his own fixture in the Studio 54 scene, shared some original shots of the stylist over the years with PAPER. See below.
Read Webb's obituary in New York Postand treat yourself to a scroll through his colorful, archival Instagram.
Photo via Getty
Body photos by Dustin Pittman / @dustinpop