New York stylist and punk icon Jimmy Webb passed away yesterday at 62 years of age. The likes of Miley Cyrus, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Joan Jett, and Slash have taken to social media, paying tribute Webb’s lasting impact on both fashion and the punk scene.
Webb arrived in New York in 1975 at the age of 16, the same year in which his future employer Trash and Vaudeville would open in St. Marks Place.Webb quickly acclimated to the East Village punk scene, becoming one of its most notable figures, in particular for his personal style of extremely tight pants, leather jackets, and bleached shaggy hair.
Following nearly two decades struggling with addiction, Webb would later become the manager, salesman, stylist, and face of the iconic rock and roll emporium. Trash and Vaudeville was notable for being the first retailer in the U.S. to carry Dr. Martens, as well as being a go-to for famous clientele including Tommy Hilfiger, Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, and Henry Rollins.
In a 2013 feature in the The New York Times, artistic director of Diesel Nicola Formichetti said “[Trash and Vaudeville] smells of punk rock. The store always has a solution. Every job, I start there. For my first ever Lady Gaga job, I went there and got her amazing stripper shoes and created an entire wardrobe for her dancers.”
In his later years, Webb remained a stylist to some of the music industry’s biggest names including Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and The Ramones, before opening his own boutique,”I Need More,” in 2017.
Read some of the tributes from friends and fans of Webb below.