DE LA VIGNE, Alain - October 13, 1929 - August 27, 2020
Alain De La Vigne was a gentleman, in the true sense of the word - a gentle man.
He was known to his legion of friends as intrepid, glamorous, charming, witty, refined, a great storyteller and capable of uttering sudden truths about one's appearance that could provoke a frantic new haircut.
Alain began his career as a hairstylist in 1950's New York in a shop on Broadway, working the midnight-dawn shift, where his clients ranged from showgirls (after the curtain had come down) to sex workers (whose curtain was just rising), to notables that ranged from Jayne Mansfield to Greta Garbo.
He subsequently moved to Canada, opened his own salon and then branched into antiques, objets d'art and anything that caught his eye that was bizarre and unique.
All of it packed his store MAD Company that became a beloved Toronto fixture.
The problem writing an obituary for Alain De La Vigne is: how do you do it?
Words don't do him justice. Alain's stories were legion, mysterious, inconsistent and always told with his incredible charisma. His smile was warm - his laugh, spontaneous and loud. He had incredible posture, even in his ninth decade.
He was a friend to all, a hero to many.
We'll miss him.
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