Anna Maria Piaggi (22 March 1931 – 7 August 2012) was an Italian

fashion writer Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about and critique fashion events and trends as well as cultivate and maintain relationships with stylists and designers. F ...

. She was known for her bright blue hair, liberal use of make-up, and her sense of style that mixed vintage and contemporary fashion.

Career

Piaggi was born in Milan on 22 March 1931.Diana Formaggio, Francesco Marraro (1987)
''Il "chi è" del giornalismo italiano: repertorio ragionato ad uso degli uffici stampa''
Roma: Al. Ver. editrice. Accessed May 2014. She worked as a translator for an Italian publishing company

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...

, then wrote for fashion magazines such as the Italian edition of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' and, in the 1980s, the avant-garde magazine ''

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as ...

''. From 1988 she designed double page spreads in the Italian ''Vogue'', where her artistic flair was given free expression in a montage of images and text, with layout by Luca Stoppini.. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived 11 July 2007. These networks of images and ideas built upon Piaggi's awareness of fashion and art history to provide an open-ended attempt at understanding fashion designers' influences. She used a bright red

Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...

"Valentina" manual typewriter designed by

Ettore Sottsass Ettore Sottsass (; 14 September 1917 – 31 December 2007) was an Italian architect and product designer. He was known for his designs of furniture, jewelry, glass, lighting, homeware and office supplies. He also worked on numerous buildings an ...

in 1969.. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived 30 June 2007. She dressed in an exuberant, unique and eclectic way. Piaggi appeared in the documentary '' Bill Cunningham New York'' about ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' fashion and social photographer Bill Cunningham.

Personal life

Piaggi married the photographer Alfa Castaldi in 1962 in New York. Castaldi died in 1995. Piaggi died in Milan on 7 August 2012.

Books

* (with Karl Lagerfeld) ''Karl Lagerfeld: A Fashion Journal''.

Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, 1986. * (with Gianni Brera) ''Africa di Missoni per Italia 90''. Edizioni Electa, 1990. * ''Anna Piaggi's Fashion Algebra''. Thames and Hudson, 1998. * ''Doppie pagine di Anna Piaggi in Vogue''. Leonardo Arte, 1998. * (with Anna Wintour, Michael Roberts, André Leon Talley and Manolo Blahnik) ''Manolo Blahnik Drawings''. Thames and Hudson, 2003.

Career

Personal life

Books

References

Further reading