CELEBRATING BETTINA GRAZIANI, THE ORIGINAL SUPERMODEL

There was an exceptional gathering of icons happening last night at the Galerie Azzedine Alaïa in Paris. Most of them were on the walls: Irving Penn, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Robert Doisneau, Henry Clarke, Gordon Parks, and Horst, to name just a few. What they all had in common was a single subject: Bettina Graziani, the world’s original supermodel. She may be turning 90 next year, but the flame-haired woman of the hour was all smiles, gamely greeting well-wishers, socialites, editors past and present, journalists, and admirers such as Kenzo and Anouk Aimée.

In her ’50s heyday, Graziani was the most photographed woman in France, a muse to Jacques Fath and Hubert de Givenchy—who famously designed a blouse named for her—whose rich and varied love life was amply documented. 

(Her first husband, Benno Graziani, a photojournalist who helped launch Paris Match, was also present.) “When I look at these pictures, I feel like I’m right there,” she said, nodding toward a ’60s-era shoot by Irving Penn for Vogue. “It’s like nothing has changed since the photo shoots we used to set up in my living room.”

Indeed, most of the photographs on display—like the iconic 1953 shot of her peering into the window at Van Cleef & Arpels in the Place Vendôme—are Graziani’s own. “She, Azzedine, and I just came up with the idea of doing [a show], and Bettina said, ‘Let’s do it while I’m still here!’ and so we did,” commented Carla Sozzani, who hosted the first Bettina exhibit during Milan fashion week. Whether the show will travel elsewhere is yet to be confirmed, but the Paris run of Bettina stretches through January 11, 2015. 

http://www.style.com/trends/fashion/2014/bettina-graziani-paris-galerie-azzedine-alaia