Jonathan Skow, the inspiration behind Mr Turk clothing, dies in Los Angeles at age 55
Jonathan Skow, fashion designer and photographer known to many in the Coachella Valley and across the globe as Mr Turk, died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to an obituary released by a spokesperson for his wife, designer Trina Turk.* He was 55.
Skow was paralyzed a few weeks ago from the neck down during a swimming accident in Hawaii. He recently called his wife and his family into his room to say goodbye, Palm Springs City Council member and family friend J.R. Roberts said.
"He was an amazing human being and I am heartbroken," Roberts, who has known the couple for 17 years, said in a text message. Skow and Turk were "a beautiful couple," he added.
Perhaps no one has defined the Palm Springs look more than Turk and Skow, who met at the University of Washington. Skow told Palm Springs Life he always wanted to be in fashion and would photograph Turk's clothes.
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The couple moved to Los Angeles, where Skow worked as a stylist and photographer. The couple later made their way to the desert, as many do, looking for a weekend escape from the hectic pace of Los Angeles.
Turk and Skow wanted a mid-century modern home to serve as a getaway and a place to do photo shoots. They ultimately bought the 1936 Art Deco house known as the "Ship of the Desert." The home was designed by Adrian Wilson and Earle Webster and required a lot of restoration work.
They almost lost the home in a fire, but were able to finish it in 2001, one year before Turk opened her first Palm Springs store.
The boutique opened in a sparsely populated neighborhood along North Palm Canyon Drive in a 1961 Albert Frey-designed building. It would become her flagship location, and the boutique is widely recognized as igniting the revitalization of what is now called the Uptown Design District.
“Jonathan Skow, along with his wife, designer Trina Turk, has been as much of an influence in defining Palm Springs style as anyone I can think of. Through his Mr Turk fashion line and the way he shared his work through photography, he brought a vibrancy and sophistication to the way many people see the desert lifestyle," said Will Dean, longtime editor of Desert Outlook magazine, a Desert Sun publication. "When I interviewed Jonathan a few years ago for Desert Outlook magazine, he spoke of how much he and Trina loved this community, and it’s evident in the business they created and the community events they supported. He’ll truly be missed.”
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The Trina Turk boutique later expanded to include Mr Turk, a line of clothes Skow described as for men who were social. He told Palm Springs Life the clothes were for men who were young or old, straight or gay, and who wore their clothes because they wanted to be seen.
“I remember when I moved to Palm Springs, going to events and seeing men in these suits of bright colors, bold patterns and a really flattering cut. And I thought, ‘I need to get one of those.’ They were sophisticated but still fun, and sort of emblematic of Palm Springs — you know, being yourself and living out loud," Dean said. "Jonathan captured that attitude perfectly in his work as a designer and photographer.”
"That's part of the spirit of Palm Springs," Skow told Desert Outlook magazine in 2014. "You can go to a party in pink plaid pants and people will love it."
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Turk and Skow's influence in Palm Springs went far beyond fashion. The power couple were major donors for the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center; the main exhibit hall is the Trina Turk gallery.
"I just have to say, I remember talking to Jonathan (Skow) and Trina (Turk) at a Modernism (Week) show opening five or six years ago, and telling them about my dream that this sort of decrepit bank building could become the Architecture and Design Center. And here we are, now, making that celebration happen," Sidney Williams, curator for the Architecture and Design Center, was quoted in The Desert Sun as telling a crowd of several hundred gathered in the former Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan for a party during the Modernism Week Preview weekend in mid-October 2014.
The $6 million project opened about a month later.
*Correction: A previous version of this story said Jonathan Skow died on Saturday, Oct. 13. He died on Friday, Oct. 12.