It sounds like a clunking cliche to say that Anna Piaggi, the distinctively dressed Italian fashion writer who died on August 7 at the age of 81, represented the last of a dying breed. But, as is often the case in fashion, the cliche holds true. Like her British counterpoint, the late Isabella Blow, Piaggi's extraordinary clothes made her a distinctive presence on the front row and a paparazzi favourite, and her image was frequently used in newspapers and magazines, either to celebrate fashion or mock it.
There are plenty of people in the fashion world whose clothes become their caricature, from Anna Wintour's bob-and-sunglasses to Anna della Russo's tiny skirts and high couture. But Piaggi, like Blow, didn't dress to look fashionable, sexy or chic. She dressed for the simple pleasure unique clothes gave her. This is, really, fashion in its purest sense and the fashion world will be a little duller and a lot sadder without her.
