Eulogy for Hugh, from his people in fashion, beauty and design
 
By Sarah Mower
 
Read by Anya Hindmarch
 
 
What will we do without Hugh?
 
For all the countless people to whom Hugh was our friend, our protector and counsellor: that is the cry that unites all of us. Every one of us has cried out these words of anguish since the terrible moment we heard that Hugh has left us. Inwardly, out loud, separately, privately, but surely in unison, none of us can comprehend the loss of this man who we loved, so far beyond anything that can be defined as professional:
 
What will we do without you?
 
 
When Tammy Kane, Nick Vinson and I started to put together a list of Hugh’s people for Sarah, the magnitude of his reach – Hugh’s influence, his relationships, his kindness – became even vaster than we even imagined. The iron-clad confidentiality, the implicit nature of the trust Hugh gave us, means that so many of us won’t know each other – or see each other – until now. The list of relationships Hugh accumulated throughout fashion, beauty and design just climbed, and climbed. Over the past few weeks, it reached a hundred. Then passed two hundred. And we’re still far from convinced that can be everyone.
 
 
That is: Everyone who Hugh fought for, inspired, connected, made laugh, and told off. Whose lives he changed. Whose businesses he steered to success. Whose confidence he championed. Hugh saved us from our legal enemies. Raised our worth. Secured our boundaries. Meanwhile, briskly swerving us clear of all the future pitfalls we hadn’t a clue about. Hugh’s ability to read tome-sized contracts at lighting speed – shooting back within hours with his red lines and suggestions – was just phenomenal.
 
 
Hugh was the one person to turn to in a crisis. And not just because he was renowned as the best legal mind. He was one we could tell our darkest secrets, and highest hopes. Hugh always came to the rescue. The dapper dresser. The 360-degree solution-maker to any problem – legal, logistical, or what buy and what to wear. Hugh – way beyond acting as our lawyer – became a father-figure for so many. A life-enhancer to us all.
 
 
Always available, cheerful, on his i-pad and phone, to the last.
 
 
Hugh operated at the highest international level, as everyone knows. He was the lethal legal weapon – the lawyer you really, really wanted on your side – for CEOs, brand entrepreneurs, creative directors, product inventors, independent designers, couturiers, milliners, design team specialists, consultants, vintage collectors, jewellers, auctioneers, fashion journalists.
 
 
What not everyone knows is how Hugh advised young designers at the beginning of their careers. For free. Every time – dozens of times – I’d ask Hugh to help somebody else, he’d always shoot back immediately: “Sure. Get them to email me.” Some could have been scared of a hefty bill. None ever came.
 
 
Let it be said: in the strictly paid-by-the-hour legal culture – that is completely unheard of.
 
 
What did it mean for a young person to announce that they were represented by Hugh Devlin? “You said his name, and there’d be this sudden silence on the phone, and then a nervous laugh”, said Christopher Kane. “People were terrified of Hugh.” It’s just an unfeasible coincidence that Hugh, the Devlins and the Kanes – as Thomas has told us – come from the same small village in Lanarkshire, and the same Catholic community. Reunited – born two decades apart – they became a Scottish talent-force that still seems a miracle.
 
 
The key to why Hugh had this inbuilt generosity is surely in his Who’s Who entry. He wrote, under ‘Recreation’ interests: “Contemporary art and design, opera and ballet, Italy, fashion history and assisting creative talent.” There it is. Hugh’s insights came from an encyclopaedic cultural knowledge; talents and tastes that hardly came from the legal education he excelled at. Little did the legal people who quailed before Hugh’s forensic mind know they were also facing: a flower-arranger, a stylist, interior designer and a brilliant cook. An expert on mid-century furniture, art, ceramics and jewellery. An authority on saints and martyrs, biblical scripture…and every pop hit and TV show of the Eighties. A Nancy Mitford and Glyndebourne fan. A party-coordinator. A collector of fashion who always zoomed in on the best things in any vintage fair in ten minutes flat.
 
 
We will remember how Hugh cheered us up with his surreal wit whenever we were in the dumps. Texts that – for me – ranged from ‘Doing the Hokey-Cokey’ and the finer points of reeling, in lockdown. We will remember how proud Hugh was of you, Sarah. How he always boasted about how amazing you looked when you went out together. All the wonderful times you have entertained us in your beautiful home in London, and holidays in Italy.
Most of all, we thank you Hugh. We will hold our gratitude to you for the rest of our lives.
 
 
Ends