The wonderfully talented Marc Pilcher whose tragic and untimely death has shocked us all, cannot just become another covid statistic. Marc, passed away after a battle with Covid-19 on Sunday 3^rd October 2021.

Last month, Marc Elliot Pilcher won the award for Outstanding Period And/Or Character Hairstyling during the 2021 Creative Arts Emmys for his work on Bridgerton. Despite testing negative for COVID several times prior to attending the event, he got sick shortly after returning home.

“This was just the most exciting project for me to work on, to create for all of our beautiful cast. I just want to say thank you,”  he said during his acceptance speech. 

To celebrate the life of London College of Fashion (LCF) alumnus Marc Pilcher, a named bursary program is being established to help disadvantaged students pursue a degree in BA (Hons) Hair, Make-up, and Prosthetics for Performance, the same course Marc studied at LCF thirty years ago.

In the early 2000s, Marc entered the film and television industry and worked on major tv shows and features as a hairdresser, stylist and makeup artist. Mary Queen of Scots, Nutcracker, Judy, Boudicca, Beauty and the Beast, Macbeth, Cranford, The Collection, W.E, and of course latterly Bridgerton to name but a few. He had also completed work on the upcoming prequel The King’s Men.

During this time, he worked with artists including Dame Judi Dench, Frances de la Tour, Emily Blunt, Imelda Staunton, Alex Kingston, Samantha Bond, Lily James, Keira Knightley, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Gambon, Madonna, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Williams, Kristen Scott Thomas, Stanley Tucci, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Eileen Atkins, Marion Cotillard, Sir Ian McKellen, Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, and Ralph Fiennes amongst many others.

Marc’s training gave him the stepping stone to work in Londons West End and tours including Sunset Boulevard where he looked after Petula Clarke and Rita Moreno, Guys and Dolls with Patrick Swayze, and shows including Copacabana for Barry Manilow, Evita with Marti Webb, Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes, Always and many more.

He always had a strong work ethic and it was through hard work, practice and repetition that gave him the skills so admired by his contemporaries the world over today and his training at London College of Fashion was where it all started. His achievements for one so humble and modest are higher than he ever dreamed of, and he would have climbed higher still.  He is irreplaceable in the industry and irreplaceable in our hearts.  

We believe Marc would want his legacy to include helping newcomers into the industry to access the training that grounded him, and particularly help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds pursue degrees in creative fields. Many of these students also happen to be from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, so by supporting an Insights student, you are also helping to promote diversity not only on our courses, but within the industry as well. This was something especially close to his heart on Bridgerton Series One on Netflix and on his final upcoming The Confessions of Frannie Langton.

His team on Frannie said: ‘Being part of The Confessions of Frannie Langton and finishing his creative vision for him is a bittersweet privilege, we hope more than anything to make him proud.  Whether we just met him or have known him for years, we are honoured to be here and learnt so much from his generous creative genius soul.  We will take him forward with us in everything we do, and hope to inspire and include in the same spirit as himself’.

One of his team said :- “ As a black hair and make-up artist I, without doubt, jumped at the opportunity that Marc so openly gave me.  Without knowing me for long he gave me a chance to look after our leading lady and welcomed my knowledge of Afro hair and make-up, he cared deeply about inclusion and diversity and understanding and showing all hair types and textures and how important it is for us.  I am blessed to be part of his latest work.’

A note received in sympathy to Marc’s death said:- ‘One day on the phone I took a bold moment to talk to him about ‘Bridgerton’. As a black woman I appreciated the style choices he had made for his leads and his background characters – I spoke very honestly and I am glad now that we had that conversation – which I will cherish – because he spoke from the heart and cherished what hair meant to me and my community. I didn’t know Marc very well, but a couple of months ago he offered me a job, his most recent in Leeds and I was lost for words. Me!  I couldn’t believe that he knew my name or that I even existed in the world. I was prepared for him to hate me forever for having to turn him down as my son was starting a new school in London, he said he didn’t want to be out of London either or away from his dog Yuri (so the dog was coming with him). He messaged me and said “We will work together!’

Marc loved to inspire and give the opportunity to new and enthusiastic members of his team as he himself had learned from his mentors, and now his creativity and flair has been recognized globally.  He would want his legacy to be to encourage that passion and growth in talent in those who follow behind and help them to dream big, especially if they were from disadvantaged backgrounds. Also, he was keen to balance up the diversity in his department.

One student bursary for a year is £5K, but the full course of study is three years, so if we raised £15K, the student could receive £5K for each year of their course. If we raise £20K that could award bursaries to four students for a year; or we could aim for a scholarship, which starts at £30K per student.

These are extraordinary times and it has never been more difficult to be a student in the UK: in the current context of reduced public funding for higher education and the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, estimates put London living costs at £16,000 per annum, an amount that makes studying at LCF impossible for those who do not have financial assistance. Your donation will be channeled towards supporting our most disadvantaged students, including those who are first in their family to attend university, looked after children, care leavers, and from lower socio-economic backgrounds. It will help them not have to hold down two or three jobs just to attend and maybe also help them to purchase the expensive equipment they need to pursue their training.

Therefore, by contributing to The Marc Pilcher Bursary Programme, you are not only honoring Marc’s legacy as an award-winning hair and make-up artist, you are also helping students from underrepresented backgrounds to gain access to world-class creative education and creating equal opportunity for them to succeed in life.

We believe though, through the ripple effect from all who have worked with and those who had such love for Marc we could raise considerably more than needed for one student, he has worked with some incredible industry professionals in his career, so please lets make the difference and turn this devastating tragedy in to a force for future creativity and positivity in his name. 

Of course we grieve his passing and the impact will be painful and intense for a long time to come.  But think of Marc and smile! (Tears optional). None will forget the twinkle in his eye and his wicked sense of humor. Nor the passion he had for his work.  “Glamorous and extravagant, he brought his flair and style to every design,” a statement read. “Never limited in his thought process for his creations, he pushed boundaries and created work never realized before.”

Please don’t forget to tick GiftAid it means that we can claim the tax on your donation too.  Also please spread the word of this appeal far and wide and as high as you dare in his memory. The more we raise, carefully invested his memory will be continued in this bursary fund for years to come.

MARC PILCHER 1967 – 2021 RIP