Lena Dunham shares moving tribute after fashion designer Federica Cavenati dies aged 28

Actor walked in a fashion show for 16Arlington, the label co-founded by Cavenati

Lena Dunham (left) has paid tribute to fashion designer Federica Cavenati (right) (Left: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images – Right: Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images)

Lena Dunham has paid tribute to fashion designer Federica “Kikka” Cavenati following her death at the age of 28.

Cavenati was a co-founder of the fashion label 16Arlington with her partner Marco Capaldo.

It was announced on Friday (5 November) that she had died on Monday following a short illness.

Dunham, who walked in a 16Arlington fashion show in February 2020, penned a tribute to Cavenati in Vogue.

“I was one of the lucky ones – along with women from Lizzo to Amal Clooney – who got to be a 16Arlington girl,” she wrote. “Finding Kikka and Marco felt like coming home to familiars.” She described Cavenati as someone whose embodiment was “making style fun, and making fun into a pure expression of style”.

Lena Dunham wrote a 16Arlington dress to the UK premiere of Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood on 30 July 2019 in London (Tim P Whitby/Getty Images for Sony)

“Kikka loved to celebrate, but she couldn’t be at my wedding,” Dunham, who announced in September she had tied the knot with musician Luis Felber in London, wrote. “She was at that point not feeling her best, and for Kikka, being seen without that trademark sparkle just wasn’t an option – not because she was vain (she was the farthest thing from it), but because she loved joy and she always wanted to embody the values she held so dear.”

She added of Cavenati: “No one who crossed her path will ever be the same, and neither will fashion.”

Cavenati’s family said in a statement shared by WWD: “The word ‘special’ feels insufficient to assign to the forcefield of optimism, passion and kindness that was Kikka, but it is undoubtedly the most direct route to capturing her.

“Kikka was a white light; an unmistakable energy and the most encouraging, fiercely loyal friend. That the 16Arlington studio will no longer ring with her wicked laughter and boundless appetite for creativity is a tragic loss to all those lucky enough to know her. She will be forever missed.”