Mirella Petteni in Venice, 1966. Photo: Helmut Newton. Image: Tumblr.
Happy Mardi Gras! To celebrate the last day of Carnival, here’s a look at the star of Helmut Newton’s 1966 Venetian shoot: Italian model and socialite Mirella Petteni Haggiag.
Born in Bergamo, Mirella Petteni moved to Milan to work as a model. As the wife of film producer Robert Haggiag, Petteni was also a society figure with residences in Venice, Tuscany, New York, and Rome’s Palazzo Mengarini. (See T magazine.) She retired from modelling to become an editor at Vogue Italia.
Mirella Petteni in Queen, August 1966. Photo: Helmut Newton. Image: Sweet Jane.
Petteni can be seen on many Vogue Couturier Designs by Italian designers.
Image: PatternVault shop.Vogue 1397 by Pucci, March 1965 retail catalogue. Image: Pinterest.
Petteni also appears in a Vogue holiday editorial that includes two Vogue Special designs (Vogue 6084 and 6054):
In Vogue 6084 and 6054, Vogue, December 1963. Photos: Irving Penn? Image: Youthquakers.
Here she wears Galitzine’s halter and culotte:
Vogue 1393 by Galitzine (1964) Image: Etsy.
Here, in Pucci’s bestselling cape-jacket ensemble, Petteni’s aspirational hair is an added bonus:
Vogue 1394 by Pucci (1964) Image: Etsy.Image: Etsy.
In white dresses from Fabiani and Forquet:
Vogue 1402 by Federico Forquet (1964). Image: Etsy.Vogue 1866 by Fabiani (1967) Image: Etsy.Vogue 1899 by Fabiani (1968) Image: Etsy.
Sorbet colour-blocking from Pucci:
Vogue 1865 by Pucci (1967) Image: Etsy.Vogue 1955 by Pucci (1968) Image: PatternVault shop.
In Forquet’s short, half-bias evening dress:
Vogue 1957 by Federico Forquet (1968) Image: Vintage Pattern Wiki.
Benedetta Barzini and Mirella Petteni in Valentino, at Agnese Bruguier’s apartment in the Palazzo Borghese, Rome, Vogue, September 1968. Photo: Henry Clarke. Image: tumblr.Mirella Petteni in Queen, August 1966. Photo: Helmut Newton. Image: tumblr.
Tania Mallet wears Mary Quant and James Wedge on the cover of British Vogue, October 1, 1963. Photo: Brian Duffy. Image: eBay.
Model and Bond girl Tania Mallet (b. 1941) was born in Blackpool to English and Russian-English parents. (Her mother, Olga Mironoff, was Helen Mirren’s paternal aunt.) She began working as a model in the late 1950s after taking a course at the Lucie Clayton Charm Academy. You may recognize her from her role as Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger (1964).
Mallet’s modelling work in the 1960s included editorials for Vogue patterns and Vogue Knitting Book.
Tania Mallet in Vogue Knitting Book no. 60 (Jubilee edition), 1962. Image: Etsy.
The earliest patterns I’ve found featuring Mallet are by French and Italian designers—Jacques Heim and Simonetta:
Vogue 1258 by Jacques Heim (1963) Image: Pinterest.Vogue 1265 by Simonetta (1963) Image: eBay.
Later patterns are by London designers like Ronald Paterson and Jo Mattli:
Vogue 1391 by Ronald Paterson (1964) Image: Vintage Pattern Wiki.Vogue 1407 by Jo Mattli (1964) Image: Etsy.Vogue 1661 by Jo Mattli (ca. 1967) Image: Etsy.
Tania Mallet wears Vogue 1693 by Federico Forquet (with Vogue 1758 by Ronald Paterson and Vogue 7158). Sekers Fabrics advertisement, 1967.
Full marks for hats and coiffure, don’t you think?
Tania Mallet in Pucci on the cover of British Vogue, July 1961. Photo: Eugene Vernier. Image: Vogue UK.Tania Mallet in Pierre Cardin on the cover of Jardin des Modes, March 1962. Photo: Harry Meerson. Image: Jardin des Modes Covers.Tania Mallet on the cover of British Vogue, July 1962. Photo: Henry Clarke. Image: eBay.
Detail, Vogue, November 1, 1963. Photo: Gene Laurents.
Whether you’re going out or staying in, palazzo pyjamas are perfect for New Year’s Eve. “Pyjama Game—the palazzo persuasion,” a 1963 Vogue editorial photographed by Gene Laurents, features two Vogue Couturier patterns for evening pyjama ensembles.
Both patterns are by designers based in Rome: Federico Forquet and Irene Galitzine. Vogue 1260 by Forquet is a sleeveless, draped evening dress that’s slit to reveal slim, matching pants. The original was apricot silk crêpe (click to enlarge):
Vogue 1260 by Federico Forquet, Vogue, November 1, 1963. Model: Marola Witt. Photo: Gene Laurents.
From Galitzine, Vogue 1220 is a three-piece pyjama ensemble consisting of a top and skirt in black cut velvet shot with Lurex paired with trousers in white crêpe. The bold, rope necklace is by Brania:
Vogue 1220 by Galitzine, Vogue, November 1, 1963. Photo: Gene Laurents.
As always, details could be found in the back of the magazine:
Back views of Vogue 1260 and 1220 in Vogue, November 1, 1963.
All the best for 2016!
Detail, Vogue, November 1, 1963. Photo: Gene Laurents.
Alberta Tiburzi in Balenciaga. Harper’s Bazaar, 1967. Photo: Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi). Image via modeSPIRIT.
Born in Rome, Alberta Tiburzi began her modelling career in Italy in the 1960s. She later moved to New York after signing a contract with American Vogue. In the 1970s Tiburzi became a professional fashion photographer, known as signora della luce for her work with light. (Read a bio here, from the 2005 exhibition Italian Eyes: Italian Fashion Photographs from 1951 to Today.)
In the mid-1960s Tiburzi did some modelling for Vogue Patterns in Rome, for Couturier patterns by Italian designers. My mother made this Galitzine ensemble in fuchsia bouclé:
Vogue 1564 by Galitzine (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.
In this design by Federico Forquet, the shaped hem of the cutaway jacket matches the waistline seam on the dress:
Vogue 1575 by Federico Forquet (1966) Image via Etsy.
Tiburzi brings out the drama of this double-breasted tent coat by Fabiani:
Vogue 1577 by Fabiani (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.
Tiburzi was also photographed in the dress from the same pattern:
Vogue 1577 by Fabiani (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.
Here she models a red Simonetta dress with tucks radiating from the collar:
Vogue 1587 by Simonetta (1966) Image via Etsy.
Once in New York, Tiburzi did some work for McCall’s. Here she models a purple dress with heavily embellished collar by Pauline Trigère:
McCall’s 1048 by Pauline Trigère (1968)
You can see a Hiro editorial featuring Tiburzi at Couture Allure, or click the models tag to see more posts in my models series.
Megan Draper (Jessica Paré) sings “Zou Bisou Bisou” (Mad Men, Season 5) Image via Papermag.com.
This week, three newer designers who established their companies in the late 1950s and early 1960s: Guy Laroche, Irene Galitzine, and Federico Forquet.
Guy Laroche (1921-1989)
Guy Laroche worked as assistant to Jean Dessès for seven years before founding his own couture house in 1957. He had an early success with his ready-to-wear line, founded in 1961, helped by a brief stint in New York’s garment industry. Laroche was known for his accessible, youthful designs and use of colour.
Vogue 1102 is a slim, one-shouldered cocktail or evening dress with off-the-shoulder neckline and loose back panel. (Click image for back view.) The dress has a boned underbodice and looped self-trimming at the shoulder:
Vogue 1102 by Guy Laroche (1961) Cocktail or evening dress. Image via Etsy.
Galitzine (1916-2006)
Irene Galitzine was a Russian-born princess whose mother had fled the Bolshevik Revolution with her and settled in Rome. A former model, she presented her first collection in 1959. Galitzine was famous for her ‘palazzo pajamas,’ evening ensembles featuring wide-legged pants; she also designed part of Claudia Cardinale’s wardrobe for her role as Princess Dala in The Pink Panther (1963). Amusingly, Claudia Cardinale is actually this blog’s top search (she’s mentioned briefly in my first Mad Men Era post). Here she wears a white Galitzine tunic and pants in the film’s first party scene:
Claudia Cardinale wears Galitzine as Princess Dala in The Pink Panther (1963)
At first glance, Vogue 1393 looks like a jumpsuit, but it’s really a chic halter blouse and culotte. The sleeveless blouse has a wrap-around construction and gathers into a high, standing band collar. The matching culotte has a gathered skirt that forms wide palazzo pants in the front:
Vogue 1393 by Galitzine (1964) Halter and culotte. Image via Etsy.
Federico Forquet (1931-)
Federico Forquet was also born to a family of aristocratic emigrés: his ancestors had settled in Naples after fleeing the French Revolution. The young Forquet worked with Balenciaga, Fabiani, and Galitzine before opening his own studio in 1961. He was known for his elegant, sculptural cut. Forquet also designed the costumes for the early Bertolucci film “Prima della rivoluzione” (1964).
Adriana Asti in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Prima della rivoluzione (1964) Image via the Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney.
Vogue 1315 is a bow-trimmed sheath dress and jacket ensemble. The dress has a neckline that’s square in the back and scooped in the front with notched detail; contrast bow trim gives a high-waisted effect. The jacket has three-quarter kimono sleeves and a fabulous raised neckline curving up into points at the throat. It seems that, when worn together, the dress’ bow sits outside the jacket. The original was photographed at the Palazzo Annibale Scotti:
Vogue 1315 by Federico Forquet (1964) Dress and jacket. Image via Etsy.
With the exception of Guy Laroche, these new designers were based in Rome, reflecting Italy’s burgeoning fashion industry, with its alternatives to the Paris couture, as well as the rise of ready-to-wear.
