Style consultant Clifford Lilley has died at the age of 73

Gentleman, charmer, sonny boy, bon vivant, lucky charm, connoisseur, performer, bon vivant, colorful dog – Clifford Lilley, born in Cape Town in 1951 and died unexpectedly in Zurich on December 12, 2024, was many things. He was a multi-talent when it came to beautiful things. An ambassador of splendor and elegance, of enjoyment and joie de vivre. Everyone loved Clifford, the man with the wonderfully old-fashioned name and the good manners of a gentleman from a bygone era.

And those who didn’t love him secretly envied him: for his esprit, his quick wit and agility. His light-heartedness was sometimes thought to be superficial, but it was never that: it was an expression of a deeply felt conviction.

Well-known figure in the city

Clifford Lilley, who grew up in divided South Africa in the 1960s and first came to the Limmat in 1979, became a well-known figure in the city through a job as a salesman at the then leading Zurich men’s boutique Hannes B.. He ensnared and charmed everyone, regardless of color, age or provenance. Lilley, who had once graduated from theater school and made his living as an actor at a young age, was free of prejudice and conceit. He was well-read, educated and cultured – but his stage should not be that of a cultural institute, but that of life.

Be it as an eloquent stylist on Swiss television SRF, as a style consultant in workshops or as a welcome (and always impeccably dressed) party guest at many Zurich chic events – Clifford Lilley was always himself, his own ambassador, a figure outside the usual categories of the known professional and private lives. He was openly gay, but never made this orientation his central theme and was therefore an elusive actor for many activists in the LGBTQ world. They would have liked him to be more explicit, but it wasn’t a big issue for him.

live and let live

Clifford Lilley was pleasantly old-fashioned and at the same time ultra-modern. Live and let live – that was his motto. You never heard him gossip loudly about anything or anyone. Positive power – without the didactic contemporary touch – that was his strength. It may be that the cheerful Lilley wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but he always found enough people who loved him for his engaging charisma. He lived in a permanent temporary shared apartment in Zurich’s Seefeld, at the best address: in Villa Egli, right on the lake, where he died unexpectedly on the night of December 12, 2024, presumably of heart failure. In the green room, with a view of the Blatterwiese.

I remember many wonderful moments with Clifford Lilley. We probably first met on the couch of Michelle Hunziker’s show “Cinderella” (“dranneblibe!”) in the 1990s. It worked. We became friends and later joined the company Herren-Globus to teach Swiss men the benefits of a good wardrobe in workshops. A corresponding joint book called “The Dress Code” also comes from this time (from 2007), which was a box office hit at the time, but is now an outdated curiosity in used bookstores.

Every reunion with Clifford Lilley was a celebrationJeroen van Rooijen

And while I was still trying diligently to put the zeitgeist into meaningful words, Clifford Lilley had already moved on: He became one of the first Zurich influencers, collected followers and fans on Facebook, later on Instagram – and became an independent brand stood on its own without an old-fashioned carrier medium. The “like” of the social media age seemed tailor-made for him.

Even though our paths haven’t crossed that often lately, every reunion with Clifford Lilley was a celebration. And grabby: Once he actually broke two of my ribs in a stormy hug! And once his car, which he had not secured with the handbrake, rolled through the forest from Gockhausen towards Dübendorf – hysterical laughter! Clifford was always there: celebrating, raising a glass to life. As if every day could be the last. Just a few days ago, Lilley was on stage at the Dolder Grand Hotel as a lively host. Cheers to life! Ultimately he would be right. We will always carry him in our hearts as a dazzling role model.

The Zurich style critic and author Jeroen van Rooijen (54) is a long-time friend and companion of Clifford Lilley. They have moderated countless workshops together and in 2007 they wrote a book about men’s fashion together: “The Dress Code”.