Connie Lynn Francis-Cioffi, a former vice president of advertising at Anne Klein, died at her home in Miami Beach on July 3. She was 68.
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The cause of death was metastatic cancer, according to her husband, John Vincent Cioffi.
Born on Aug. 13, 1955, in Washington, D.C., Francis-Cioffi graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology as a London Scholar.
Early in her career, Francis-Cioffi spent five years at Pinky & Dianne in public relations. She later moved to Zoran where she was director of public relations for a year. She joined Anne Klein in 1984 as director of public relations and advertising, reporting to Louis Dell’Olio, designer for Anne Klein, and Frank Mori, then president of Anne Klein.
Francis-Cioffi handled public relations and advertising for both Anne Klein and Anne Klein Studio Ltd., the licensing arm. In 1991, she was promoted to vice president and director of advertising for the Anne Klein Apparel Group as part of a new corporate public relations and advertising department formed to maintain a consistent image for the Anne Klein Cos., which consisted of Anne Klein & Co., A-Line, Anne Klein Dresses, Anne Klein II and its licensees, reporting to Andrew Rosen, then president of the Anne Klein Apparel Group.
“Connie was your Girl Friday,” said Dell’Olio. “She was loyal, she always had my back, and she protected me. I adored her. She was smart and efficient, and she knew how to shield you and keep people at bay,” said Dell’Olio on Friday.
Dell’Olio said she was a jack of all trades. “I was involved in everything and every aspect of the business, and Connie was right beside me,” he said.
Virginia Smith, director, Global Fashion Network at Vogue, and her husband, the designer Patrick Robinson, both worked with Francis-Cioffi when they were at Anne Klein.
“Connie had incredible taste – from working on fashion campaigns to her beautiful home in Vermont. She never wanted to be front and center, always choosing to shine the light on others rather than herself. She was a quiet force but with the best laugh!” said Smith.
“Everyone adored Connie,” said Kathleen Boyes, a fashion writer and a former WWD fashion editor. “Connie was a strong, quiet presence, both personally and professionally. She made everyone feel taken care-of, quickly addressing your needs, no matter how tight the deadline, how urgent the request. She made it happen without drama or fanfare,” she said.
In an article in the L.A. Times in 1991 about controversial and cutting-edge fashion advertising, a popular strategy at the time, Francis-Cioffi told the newspaper, “Our commercials are not out of place in lieu of what appears on broadcast television and in films.” One of the ads featured reincarnation and angered Christian organizations.
Other A-Line TV spots were sexually suggestive, including one that ran after 11 p.m. and featured a man and a woman rolling around under a sheet and a woman sitting on a bed removing her bra. “A lot of companies justify their ads as freedom of speech and the consumer can just take it or leave it. We’ve never geared our commercials to start controversy. We were surprised when they did,” she told the L.A. Times.
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In 1994, Anne Klein, under then-designer Richard Tyler, did a campaign WWD described as a vampy, aggressive, black-and-white Chris Von Wagenheim-ish nighttime fantasy, complete with helicopters, DeLorean cars and dark alleys. In a modern interpretation of the “night on the town” theme, Steven Meisel shot 14 black-and-white images in New York, and the ads were produced by Anne Klein’s in-house ad staff.
After she left Anne Klein in 1996, she established her own public relations and advertising agency with clients that included Anne Klein, Ralph Lauren, Clinique and Irving Penn.
“Connie embraced each chapter of her life with grace and enthusiasm. Her presence brought warmth and joy to those around her. She had a remarkable ability to connect with people, making friends wherever she went, and her kindness touched the hearts of many,” said her husband, John.
He said she had a great eye for models and produced the Anne Klein and Anne Klein II campaigns in-house. “She would produce the shoot, and at the same time, help with the accessories and styling. She loved and breathed the industry. Modeling agencies would reach out to her for her opinion [about models],” he said, even up until recently. He said she was known as the “Velvet Hammer.”
“She was polite and knew what she was doing and she had to stand her ground,” he said.
After a successful career in the fashion industry, Francis-Cioffi turned her focus to charitable giving and development. One of her more significant contributions was supporting the work of Dr. Tom Catena and the Gidel Hospital in Sudan, which provides care for more than 1 million people. In addition, Francis-Cioffi was instrumental in funding a 28-bed Francis-Cioffi Pediatric Hospital in Uganda, which treats thousands of children annually.
Francis-Cioffi was also a passionate advocate for animal welfare.
According to her husband, after they left their permanent home in New York in 2008, they spent time in Vermont and Miami Beach and would continue to go back and forth to New York.
In addition to her husband, to whom she was married for 30 years, Francis-Cioffi is survived by her sisters, Donna Francis and Janet Hall, and by her seven nieces and nephews.
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