My friend Nikki Brewster, who has died aged 63 from acute myeloid leukemia, was a fashion stylist with a modern bohemian style that was appreciated by Tatler and Vogue magazines and loved by photographers including Mario Testino and Wendy Bevan. One of her best-known shoots featured Venus Williams and was shot by Koto Bolofo, who recently said of her: “In 1984, you gave me a chance to work for British Vogue where no door was opened for a black person like me. Thank you.”
Nikki was born in London to hoteliers Thomas and Yvonne Brewster (nee Dudley), but spent most of her early years enjoying a country life – with lots of horse riding and tennis – in Alfriston, Sussex, where her family moved to run the Deans Place hotel. She even had a donkey called Ribena.
After attending Ancaster House school in Bexhill-on-Sea, London called her back when she was 16. She went to St Godric’s secretarial and finishing college in Hampstead, and then was determined to find a job at Vogue. She bombarded Condé Nast with letters and eventually landed a role at Brides magazine answering queries from brides-to-be, before being transferred in 1978 to Tatler as a fashion assistant and then to British Vogue to be a fashion editor in 1983. From 1986, she worked as a self-employed fashion stylist for magazines – from international Vogues to Vanity Fair – and brands from Mulberry to Laura Ashley.
Nikki lived for years in Ladbroke Grove in London and loved music, particularly Bob Marley and Jah Shaka. She got together with Claudius “Saga” Francis and they had a daughter, Sivani, in 1988, before separating in 1991. Nikki loved to dance at the Notting Hill carnival; I danced with her many times myself.
When friends talk about Nikki, they all mention her hearty laughter and her delicious vegetable stew. She cooked regularly for her community of friends and family, practised yoga and qigong and played fiercely competitive tennis.
Nikki became an art director in her 50s and worked for Next until 2021. She especially enjoyed her time away on seasonal shoots in the Maldives and Mexico.
In the last couple of years of her life she moved to a cottage in Frome, Somerset, which she filled with flowers, exquisite textiles and paintings. Nikki relished making everything beautiful.
She is survived by Sivani and by her brother, Barrie, and sister, Claire.
