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(CNN) - Isabel Toledo, the acclaimed Cuban-American designer, best known for creating Michelle Obama's inauguration dress in 2009, died, her husband Ruben Toledo told The New York Times.
He was 59 years old. The cause was breast cancer, her husband said.
Isabel Toledo was considered a "designer of designers" who focused on the technique and avoided being the center of attention while becoming famous through looks that combined traditional haute couture with accessibility ready to use.
Isabel Toledo attends the Museo Del Barrio Pre-Gala Bash, in Omar's, on February 29, 2016. Credit: (Andrew Toth / FilmMagic / Getty Images)
"I am not supposed to say that I am not a fashion person, but I am not ... I love design," he told CNN in a 2012 interview.
“Design is very different from fashion. That is why the design lasts forever. It is like an engineer. I love designing a garment. Make this work, make it work, make this sculpture work. ”
Toledo was born in Cuba, where he learned to sew when he was 8 years old because "I couldn't find anything I loved," he said in 2012.
After moving to the United States, he perfected his trade as a professional dressmaker at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Parsons School of Design and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he completed an internship for Diana Vreeland.
Isabel Toledo met her future husband, Rubén Toledo, in high school in New Jersey.
It would take them several years to get together, personally and professionally, but the two eventually became close collaborators in an association that was a wonder of the fashion world.
The two were inseparable, said Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the FIT Museum. The museum held two exhibitions of Toledo's work that explored his love for creating patterns and transforming two-dimensional patterns into three-dimensional garments that became his signatures, Steele said.
“Isabel Toledo was a brilliant fashion designer. I met her for the first time in 1990 and immediately felt that she was an original and inspiring designer, and a beautiful person, ”said Steele.
Acclaimed artist and illustrator, Rubén drew her designs, including the outfit that made her a household name, a change of lemongrass and a matching coat that Michelle Obama used for her husband's inauguration in 2009.
Toledo told CNN in 2012 that his inspiration was a small sample of lemongrass fabric in his studio.
"The emotion behind the dress was that piece of cloth," he said.
Michelle Obama wore this lemongrass garment and a matching coat designed by Isabel Toledo for the 2009 inauguration in Washington. (Credit: Doug Mills / Pool / Getty Images)
As time progressed before the event, she explained the idea to her husband, who drew the dress, sent it via email and quickly obtained approval.
"I still sweat thinking about that day," he said.
But despite his experience in the fashion world, he said he preferred to focus on design.
“Everything fascinates me if I have to think: How do I sew this fabric? What am I saying with the cloth? It has nothing to do with 'What does it look like?' ”
Toledo also designed more massive elements, including a series of boots, pumps, flat shoes and bags for the Payless discount chain.
"As a designer, your goal is to communicate and do your job, regardless of whether you are making a dress, a shirt or even an ashtray," she said.
fashion design
