Muse & Mainstream Iconoclast Anna Piaggi March 4, 2008
She has been described as a muse, eccentric, and a fashion icon, but
never boring and never publicly in the same outfit twice.
You may remember the picture I posted on What’s Your Style? from the Sartorialist of Anna Piaggi. Ms. Piaggi who has been a creative consultant to Italian Vogue since 1988 has produced more than 7,000 editorial pages. She also, along with her late husband, the photographer, Alfa Castaldi conceived the illustrated journal Vanity in the early 1980’s.
Her wardrobe which can be described as a living museum (and has been featured in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum) is woven together like a technicolor dreamcoat. She describes her covetable collection as “friends”, which consist of priceless 100 year-old Poiret pieces, Dolce & Gabbana, Karl Lagerfeld and countless other designers.
She mixes styles from all eras to create her own version of wearable art. Here are just a couple of her ecletic masterpieces. (From left, Fall 2007 Ready-to-Wear Yves Saint Laurent; Fall 2008 RTW Alexander McQueen)
She was the muse to Karl Lagerfeld in the 1986 magnum opus, 
Lagerfeld’s Sketchbook.
‘The first drawing was made on a paper napkin in a Chinese restaurant in Paris,’ she says. ‘In the introduction to the book, he wrote: “Anna is wonderful. She is a graphic person. She is not pretty… she is worse.” She laughs her deep, infectious laugh. ‘I love it. This was a quotation belonging to a French actress. “She’s not pretty, she’s worse!”
Can we talk about he hats? I was hard pressed to find pictures where I could really see her face. Most of the time, her hair is covering half of her features and the hats are instead the focal point. (From left, Vivienne Westwood Retrospective; Fall 2008 RTW John Galliano)
She likes to pay tribute to those she meets by calling her hat maker Stephen Jones to make a special creation including something relative to her audience. In the pictures below, you may surmise her company.
From Left, Fall 2003 RTW Versace; Absolut Ice Bar Launch in Milan
The joy of fashion, is individuality it can bring. For certain, there is only one Anna Piaggi.
For more in depth information relating to this article, please see; Tamsin Blanchard: Rebel de jour and Style.com. Photo Source: Style.com
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[...] may remember a post I wrote on Anna Piaggi and her hat collection. Here’s one just to refresh your [...]