Remembering the Timeless Style of Marella Agnelli

In another blow to the canon of good taste this week, photographer, socialite, and Italian noblewoman Marella Agnelli died on Saturday at her home in Turin. The 91-year-old was dubbed by Truman Capote as the “last Swan,” which became the title of her autobiography. Capote called his coterie of glamorous female friends ‘swans’ – a tribute to their social graces and physical beauty. Indeed, Agnelli, a striking woman with a fittingly long neck, lived a truly glamorous life. She was friends with Capote and Lee Radziwill, photographed by Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon, and was one of Valentino’s earliest customers. She married the late Fiat heir Gianni Agnelli and had two children. The couple were voracious art collectors who founded a museum, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, together.

Agnelli was known and will be remembered for her impeccable taste. She kept a signature short crop of hair for most of her life but wasn’t afraid to have some (measured) experimental fun in her fashion. In true Italian style, she wasn’t afraid of a little color or print, but all of her outfits had an easy elegance to it. She never looked restricted and the clothes never looked like they were wearing her. See some highlights below.