Saturday 16 April 2011

My goodness, my Guinness!

I didn't know that she married at 19. I didn't know she had three children and i didn't know that her eldest son dated Paris Hilton. I didn't know she produced films and don't recall her childhood memories of swimming for countless hours in Salvador Dali's lobster infested pool. It seems, i don't really know anything about Daphne Guinness.




She's heiress to an aristocratic legacy- that, i do know and am fairly familiar with her unapologetic flamboyance and brashly extravagant love for couture. But what is her job title exactly? With this ambiguous fumble, I'm retreating swiftly back onto uncharted territory, questioning words such as model? socialite? stylist? designer? muse? But does it really matter? With her affluent faculty, enviable wardrobe and iconic persona, Daphne Guinness has a license to venture.

In the loosest terms i have generously branded her an "icon"; dictionarily defined as "a representation of some sacred personage". Does she follow the narrative? not strictly, but in vulgar modern ideology she is, in part, a "sacred personage". Her adherent dedication to the art of couture is not only influential but admirable at least. She devotes herself wholeheartedly to projecting a portrait of creativity, subconsciously acting as a vessel for true designing talent. 





She may fit many arguable subtitles but Daphne Guinness is NOT just a clothes-horse, despite avidly championing high fashion artistry. Alexander McQueen was among her closest friends and she would often, publicly advocate his designs and continues with the creative promotion, even after his death, leaving a lasting trail of tributes with every step she takes. Notably adding to her couture catalogue, last year she adopted the remaining entirely of Isabella Blow's wardrobe. It was an act which, at first evoked bewilderment, but is now rightfully perceived as commendable; Daphne not only strengthened her integral bond with the fashion world but, most poignantly, she heroically salvaged something which defined Issie's little dent upon the world. 


Admittedly, Daphne Guinness is no stranger to provocative commentary (many may recall an incident in which she, may or may not, have called Victoria Beckham "an ugly pig ") Nevertheless, her tabloid exploits are just a small excerpt of her unfolding biography. She's so much more than we could humanly identify with and will, undoubtedly, continue to evolve.


To be honest, i might not know much about Daphne Suzannah Diana Joan Guinness but i do know that she's open to interpretation. 



What was so incredible about him was he could do the simplest things and the most complicated things. He was a proper genius, and that is a very overused word. If he’d done art, he would have been the best; if he’d done architecture, he would have been the best.” (Daphne on McQueen)


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