Fashion editor and style icon Anna Piaggi has passed away at age 81. She was known for her eye-popping outfits with the most un-imaginable combinations. Ms. Piaggi was born in 1931 in Milan, and she passed away yesterday at her home in Milan. Anna Piaggi was more of a fashion encyclopedia. Her knowledge of fashion history was incredible. She was often described as “the walking museum”
The sad news caught me yesterday when I saw the tweet of Stefano Gabbana: ‘RIP Anna Piaggi… :((((( ciao grande Anna!!!’
Ms Piaggi, who was to my opinion an amazingly creative and daring woman, could call herself the muse of many designers.
Most famously Karl Lagerfeld, during his success period in the 1960s and 1970.
“She dresses the way one plays a role,” Mr. Lagerfeld once said. “She’s a great performer, but she is also the author of the play.”
Manolo Blahnik, who designed many of her shoes, once described her as “the only authority on frocks left in the world.” And ‘modern beyond belief’
Her appearance was always noticed; the white powdered face, a bright dot of rouge painted on her cheeks, eyes ringed in blue or black eye shadow, lips painted in a bright color, and this all topped off with a miniature clowns hat. (Usually by Stephen Jones) Not to forget her waive of blue hair. As I read in an article, Ms Piaggi had not left home without a hat since the early 1980s.
“I feel better if I have a good hat on” she said.
Also famous for her regular vogue feature, called Doppie Pagine (or “double pages,” or just “D.P.”), she established a template for modern trend reporting by juxtaposing images of classical references with the current season’s runway designs.
A 2006 exhibition dedicated to her style, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, drew 4,000 visitors a week. The show opened with an accounting of her wardrobe: 265 pairs of shoes, 29 fans, 932 hats, 2,865 dresses, 24 aprons and 31 feather boas.
Her career lasted for over fifty years. Here some of the highlights:
1950’s – Met the photographer Alfa Castaldi, who introduced her to the profession of fashion magazines
1962 – Ms Piaggi and Mr Castaldi married
1981 – 1983 – Editor in Chief of Vanity
1986 – 1988 – Release of Karl Lagerfeld’s book with sketches of ms Piaggi
1988 – Started in Vogue as a creative consultant and created the “Double pages”
1995 – Ms. Piaggi’s husband dies
2003 – Release of the book ‘Manolo Blahnik drawings’ featuring some illustrations of ms Piaggi
2006 – Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London of her clothes collection
The tweets:
Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani: “23 years of working together, thousands of D.P. [Doppie Pagine – double-page spreads] realised together. You will always be remembered Anna,” Vogue Italia
Stefano Gabbana: “RIP Anna Piaggi… :((((( ciao grande Anna!!!,”
Domenico Dolce: “Very sad for the death of Anna Piaggi,”
Dita Von Teese: “So sad to hear that Anna Piaggi, one of my last icons of beauty & fashion has passed, She was the height of glamorous eccentricity. X”
Below some of the pictures that Dutch Photographer Edland Man took of her when he made her portrait in Milan.
