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PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 25 February 2020
B. Smith, model turned lifestyle guru, dead at 70

NEW YORK (AP) — Barbara She once froze for several
"B." Smith, one of the na- seconds while being in-
tion's top black models terviewed on the "Today
who went on to open res- Show," prompting a doc-
taurants, launch a success- tor's visit that led to her di-
ful home products line and agnosis. A few months lat-
write cookbooks, has died er, she was missing in New
at her Long Island home at York City for a day.
age 70 after battling early In 2018, Gasby revealed
onset Alzheimer's disease. that he was in a relation-
Smith's family announced ship with another woman
on social media that she while caring for his ailing
died Saturday evening. wife, leading to harsh criti-
"Heaven is shining even cism from some of her fans.
brighter now that it is He fired back at critics with
graced with B.'s dazzling a Facebook post about the
and unforgettable smile," pain of living with Alzheim-
Smith's husband Dan Gas- er's in the family. "I love my
by said on Facebook. wife but I can't let her take
Smith's eponymous Man- away my life," he wrote.
hattan restaurant opened The couple co-authored
in 1986 and attracted a a book, "Before I Forget:
following among affluent Love, Hope, Help, and
black New Yorkers, The Acceptance in Our fight
New York Times recalled. Es- Against Alzheimer's," and
sence magazine described have partnered with the
it as the place "where the Brain Health Registry.
who's who of black Man- Smith, a native of Pennsyl-
hattan meet, greet and In this Jan. 14, 2012 file photo, former model and restaurateur B. Smith arrives at the BET Honors red vania, began her career
carpet in the Warner Theatre in Washington.
eat regularly." Associated Press as a fashion model in Pitts-
Smith wrote three cook- burgh and went on to serve
books, founded three suc- on the cover of Mademoi- American community, fol- interview with New York as a spokeswoman for Ve-
cessful restaurants and selle magazine, after Jolie lowing her diagnosis. magazine. "We were al- rizon, Colgate, Palmolive
launched a nationally syn- Jones in 1969. Some described Smith as ways expected to redo the Oxy and McCormick's Law-
dicated television show "You epitomized class, true a "black Martha Stewart," chairs and use everything ry seasonings. She hosted
and a magazine. Her suc- beauty and dignity. Rest a comparison she said she in the garden. This is the the nationally syndicated
cessful home products line well Queen," actress Viola didn't mind though she be- legacy that I was left. Mar- television show "B. Smith
was the first from a black Davis wrote on Twitter. lieved the two lifestyle ma- tha just got there first." with Style" for nearly a de-
woman to be sold at a Smith was diagnosed with vens were quite different. In the same interview, Gas- cade, which aired on NBC
nationwide retailer when early onset Alzheimer's dis- "Martha Stewart has pre- by said, "Martha is perfec- stations.
it debuted in 2001 at Bed ease in 2013. She and Gas- sented herself doing the tion and Barbara is pas- Smith is survived by Gasby,
Bath & Beyond. by raised awareness of the things domestics and Afri- sion." Smith began suffer- whom she married in 1992,
In 1976, she became the disease, and particularly can Americans have done ing from memory problems and her stepdaughter
second black model to be its impacts on the African- for years," she said in a 1997 years before her diagnosis. Dana Gasby.q
Raf Simons joining Prada in full creative collaboration

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Simons, 52, is considered the new coronavirus was a
Fashion Write one of the fashion world’s growing concern around
MILAN (AP) — Miuccia Pra- biggest talents, whose fu- the fashion capital. Giorgio
da and Raf Simons — two ture has been the subject Armani took the unusual
of the fashion world’s big- of intense speculation since step to show his collection
gest creative names — will he left Calvin Klein in 2018. behind closed doors to an
collaborate on Prada col- He previously was creative empty theater, streaming
lections from Spring/Sum- director of Jil Sander and for the fashion public, as a
mer 2021 going forward Dior, and also has his own precaution. The rest of the
indefinitely, the designers eponymous label, which fashion shows scheduled
announced Sunday at a he said would continue. for Sunday continued as
news conference on the Their first collaboration will planned. Later Sunday the
sidelines of Milan Fashion appear on the September number of confirmed cases
Week. runway for Spring/Summer in Italy rose to at least 152
Prada, who has been the 2021. “Maybe this is the first and officials halted the
creative force behind one time in fashion history that Venice Carnival to try to
of luxury’s most successful two expert designers who stop the spread of the virus.
brands for 30 years, said had their own successes in Prada said they went Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, left, hold a press conference
the new partnership didn’t this sector will work togeth- ahead with the announce- in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, on the sidelines of Milan
signal an eventual succes- er,” said Patrizio Bertelli, ment despite the grow- Fashion Week.
sion. the co-CEO of the Prada ing emergency in Italy — Associated Press
“Don’t make me older than Group with his wife, Miuc- where more cases of the Kong. She said that the glo- we need to work, also if
I am,” the 70-year-old de- cia Prada. The announce- COVID-19 virus have been balized world is becoming these ugly and difficult
signer quipped. ment came on a day when confirmed than in Hong ever more complex “and things are happening.”q