A few months ago, Daphne Guinness moved to Paris. And although staying put and clipping her metalized wings sounds unlikely this summer, I hope she’ll return in September and start a salon of sorts...
A few months ago, Daphne Guinness moved to Paris. And although staying put and clipping her metalised wings sounds unlikely this summer, I hope she’ll return in September and start a salon of sorts. Of course, her great aunt Nancy Mitford, the best selling novelist and fervent defender of Christian Dior’s New Look achieved this in the 1940s and 50s, attracting a lively crowd – mingling politicians with writers and aristocrats – to her left bank home. And if Daphne was interested, she too could rustle up a different albeit equally eclectic crowd. Much has been written about her incredible contribution to fashion – her relationships with Alexander McQueen, Isabella Blow, David LaChapelle, Nick Knight, Lady Gaga, Comme des Garçons and New York’s FIT being the mere tip of the iceberg.
Then there’s her couture packed wardrobe, which evokes Beau Brummell, Aubrey Beardsley and Anderson’s Snow Queen in a contemporary manner. Yet little is made of Daphne’s personal charm, which snares then caresses. Part of it is the lilt of her voice – unusually soft and pretty – and her intriguing range of conversation. Well-read and extremely musical, Daphne can bounce from discussing Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series to holding forth on a soprano’s latest performance.
"Little is made of Daphne’s personal charm, which snares then caresses"
Since our personal styles don’t remotely compare, I’m often reintroduced to Daphne. This amuses us both since our families have been fairly linked for several generations. That aside, I witnessed Daphne’s first and probably most public appearance in 1983. Sweet 16 and quite the punkette, she was a bridesmaid at her half-sister’s first wedding. Although an unforgettably smart and delightfully decadent occasion – think Brideshead Revisited with a whiff of The Great Gatsby – the next morning, it was obvious that a new femme fatale was born: La Daphne! No attractive male could stop talking about the mischievous nymph.
Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni is a Paris-based British writer who covers fashion and lifestyle as well as being the author of Sam Spiegel – The Biography of A Hollywood Legend, Understanding Chic, an essay from the Paris Was Ours anthology, the soon-to-be released Tino Zervudachi – A Portfolio – as well as the Chanel book, for Assouline's fashion series.
Robert Beck is former New Yorker currently based in Paris. Also known as C.J. Rabbitt, he is the author and illustrator of several children's books, including The Tale of Rabbitt in Paradis, Un Lapin à Paris and the soon-to-be-published A Bunny in the Ballet.
