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12 May

Brigitte Burke Remembered in Paris

Brigitte Burke, wife of LVMH executive Michael Burke, was remembered Thursday as a lady of incomparable warmth, positivity, determination and resilience.

She passed away at home in Miami on Feb. 23 at age 65 after an extended battle with cancer, and about 200 people gathered on the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris for a tribute event whose dress code was “an outfit in memory of Brigitte’s joyful spirit and sunny disposition.”

Michael Burke was flanked by Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Sidney Toledano, chairman and CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, as two Louis Vuitton employees with golden voices opened this system, singing a rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

A large swath of LVMH’s top executives attended, and most of the group’s creative directors, including Nicolas Ghesquière and Pharrell Williams from Louis Vuitton; Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi from Fendi (Jones also designs menswear at Dior); Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson; Off-White’s Ib Kamara; Dior Joallerie’s Victoire de Castellane, and Emilio Pucci’s Camille Miceli.

Surrounded by Claude Monet’s majestic murals in one in every of the oval-shaped rooms that together form the symbol for eternity, guests heard tributes that were sometimes heart-wrenching, and infrequently uplifting.

They gasped with emotion and fought tears when her five sons, the youngest only 16, filed on stage, their comportment, bravery and diction — one read poems by Shel Silverstein — a testament to her high quality teachings.

A noted expert on child psychology, Burke advocated and radiated positivity, caring and charm. While she had no official role at LVMH, she steadily welcomed executive committee members for dinners at home, used her dancing prowess and joie de vivre to get many fashion parties began, and was a reassuring, calming presence for the creative teams at fashion shows.

Burke’s twin sister, Fabienne, recounted about how Brigitte fought her disease with great courage, determination and hope. “What luck I needed to have you ever as my twin,” she said.

Arnault spoke of Brigitte’s personal charm and charisma, noting, “She’s the one person I’ve ever met that Michael never criticized,” he joked, prompting some chuckles and a moment of levity.

“They made a unprecedented couple,” he said of the Burkes.

Williams took a spiritual tack on the mic, noting that Brigitte “generated lots of light” and “that energy is now within the universe.

“I’m joyful and honored to pay tribute, and to experience the love that’s on this room tonight,” he said. “For some, it’s a loss, but to heaven, she’s a gain.”

Michael Burke closed the tribute program, pausing for an extended moment at the rostrum, after which reading from a prepared speech — something he never does — so he wouldn’t choke up. He and Brigitte had been together 50 years.

In her obituary notice, Burke included a quote from Victor Hugo: “You are not any longer where you were, but you’re in every single place that I’m.”

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