the Divine Ms.Daphne

 

             

             


Daphne Guinness is one of those names that slips out with personable connotations instantly. You could be living under a rock and have no idea who she were, and you'd probably still think she sounded like the most decadent bitch alive. Well you'd be right. Socialite, heiress, haute-couture collector, muse, stylist, film producer and perfumer are some of the career attributes to that name, however Daphne Guineness is probably most reputable for her remarkable personal style.

              

Daphne was born into luxury in 1967 as an heiress to Ireland's established Guinness family. Her childhood was spent between Ireland and England, and her family would often spend summers in Spain when fun-family past times included swimming in Salvador Dali's lobster-filled pool. She then spent some time in New York in the eighties with her sister, where at one point she was Andy Warhol's personal assistant and married at 19. Her marriage to Spyros Niarchos - son of the Greek shipping magnate, Stavros - in 1987 was "...madness, but that's love for you. I was headstrong and very much in love and I couldn't see any reason not to marry." In any case, she received a sweet payout of $20m and three gorgeous children when they divorced.

Her famed companionship with the late Isabella Blow, whom she met at the 90th birthday party for her cousin, Maureen, was one of the most (genuinely) beautiful ones in fashion to date. The two used to help each other on fashion shoots. "I loved her," she said in The Daily Telegraph. "'I miss her every day. I cannot believe she is not here. She was so generous and so very funny," (Daphne caused a stir last year after she stopped the planned auction of Isabella Blow's wardrobe collection by buying every lot - "The sale could only result in carnage, as souvenir seekers plundered the incredible body of work Issie had created over her life...in many ways, the auction would not be merely a sale of clothes; it would be a sale of what was left of Issie, and the carrion crows would gather and take away her essence forever.")

On the topic of style, Daphne's is experimental, enigmatic and flawless.

"When I was a child, I was overly serious and thoughtful, a real tomboy, always dressing up as a knight or a pirate or a red Indian. If there is anything you can say about me, it’s that I have not lost the imagination I had when I was 5 years old. " -New York Times

Among fashion endeavours and generally being the spectacle of dress at all occassions, Daphne has her own clothing line as well as a perfume she created in collaboration with Comme des Garcon in 2009. She has been cited as a 'hive of creative activity' because of her involvement in various projects and musings. Daphne has made short films and produced Sean Ellis's Oscar-nominated 2004 short, Cashback. Her involvement in fashion photoshoots also extends beyond modelling - Daphne plays a very active and collaborative role in creative direction.

And of course, Daphne Guinness was a tremendous supporter of the late Alexander McQueen.

It is the decadent bitches like her, who continue buying into couture and atelier integrity, that keep the beauty of fashion alive.

Daphne's tribute to McQueen, 2011.