John Fairchild, the witty and irascible publisher and editor who transformed his family’s fusty trade publication, Women’s Wear Daily, into the lively bible of the fashion industry, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 87.
Women’s Wear Daily announced his death without specifying the cause.
For more than three decades, from 1960 to 1997, Mr. Fairchild was one of the most powerful, and mercurial, people in the fashion business. From his perch atop Women’s Wear Daily — and later at W magazine, which he founded — he helped make kings out of designers like Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent and Bill Blass and whacked down those who did not meet his exacting standards.
And before Gawker and Spy magazine and Page Six in The New York Post became must-reads, Mr. Fairchild was already encamped at the intersection of fashion, celebrity and high society, turning socialites like C. Z. Guest, Mercedes Bass and Pat Buckley into personalities, stationing photographers outside fancy restaurants as they came and went.
Everyone who crossed his path knew to beware of the newspaper’s saucy headlines and withering asides in capital letters. He even gave designer collections letter grades, as if Carolina Herrera and Donna Karan were back in high school.
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Mr. Fairchild is survived by his wife, Jill; his sons John, James and Stephen; his daughter, who is also named Jill; and eight grandchildren.
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this obituary included an inaccurate reference to Women’s Wear Daily. It is a newspaper, not a magazine.
A version of this article appears in print on February 28, 2015, on page D6 of the New York edition with the headline: John B. Fairchild, 87, Dies; Edited a Bible of Fashion. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
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