I
was driving along in the car and listening to the radio when I heard the news
of L’Wren
Scott’s death. I wasn’t to know it was L’Wren Scott for some
time, as the headline and the next few sentences didn’t even mention her name.
She was simply ‘Mick Jagger’s girlfriend’.
I
admit that I had not heard of the 49 year-old designer before but if the news
sources are going to put out a bulletin about someone’s death then surely they
ought to dignify her with a name? Her main claim to fame may well be that she
had a famous partner, but surely she deserves to be defined in her own right?
Scott dressed many of the rich and famous. She was a highly successful and
respected fashion designer. At least give her name first!
Similarly
many of the tabloids today focused on his reaction to the news – rather
than the news itself.
It
is desperately sad to hear that anyone has taken their own life. The depths of
despair are unimaginable. It transpires that the latest accounts for L’Wren
Scott’s business reveal her fashion company had a deficit of nearly six million
dollars. She had been unable to pay her staff and her suppliers and the problem
had been going on for some time.
Rumours
have abounded that Jagger had recently split up with her but these are strongly
denied and The Rolling Stones have cancelled the beginning of their tour in
Australia out of respect. He is said to be ‘shocked and devastated’ by
the news.
Now
the question being asked on social media and in the press, is how can someone
who ostensibly has everything, be so unhappy that she commits suicide?
There
were hints that all was not right when on one of her final postings on
Instagram she said: “Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of life.”
Those who knew her well say that she was suffering from depression and had only
just recovered from a self-harming incident a few weeks ago.
On
the surface she lived a charmed life. Underneath, things were clearly very
different. I am no expert in mental health but the adage that money or success
alone does not make you happy, runs true.
In
fact for someone who has had an incredibly successful career, the fall from the
top may be even harder to deal with. We hear stories of rich businessmen who
commit suicide when things go wrong. There is no doubt that even if they were
made bankrupt, the sort of poverty they might endure would be nothing like some
families living on benefits with appalling accommodation and few prospects.
Yet, the humiliation is somehow too much to take.
Perhaps
we are more shocked because suicide rates are on average three to five times
higher for men although many of us may not be aware of the fact that more
people die by suicide each year than by murder and war combined. In the US,
suicide rates for the middle-aged have risen sharply in the past decade.
It
would be very wrong, however, to reduce L’wren Scott to a statistic. She
clearly did not live a ‘normal’ life in the way that most of us imagine. The
image of fame and success portrayed in the media that so many young girls
aspire to, is dangerous.
Famous,
successful people are human beings like the rest of us. They are subject to the
same fears and insecurities. No more and no less. The pressures may be
different but they are pressures nonetheless.
We
cannot speculate on the reasons she did what she did. We can only reflect on a
very sad incident and respect the rights of those close to her to grieve in
privacy.
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