Fashion Royalty

I wonder if its because we don't have our own royal family here in the US, that we don't share the same fascination with them as the Europeans do. Every time I'm abroad, some prince, princess, baron or baroness is splashed all over the tabloids and/or broadcast news. But I guess with so many European countries, it's a bit hard to keep track of them all: those dukes, earls, and lords just seem to add up, don't they?

So it's probably no wonder, then, that most Americans wouldn't recognize Daphne Guinness if they saw her shot from the front row of an haute couture show, which is where she's normally seen perched. But she, like Lady Amanda Harlech, is an interesting and, I think, important figure to write about, sheerly because of their unquestionable presence on the fashion scene.

If her name sounds familiar, its because she hails from the aristocratic family of brewers, you know, the one that's splashed across the most recognizable bottle of English stout out there. At 19, she married Greek shipping billionaire Spyros Niarchos, and later divorced with a hefty settlement, which has since funded her predilection for couture.

She has been writer, muse to many, designer (she came out with a line of white shirts, I think) and now is making her directorial debut at Paris couture week with a short film installation. But where does she sit best? At least, in my mind, she's one of the few people in the world who can wear couture and look as if she belongs in it.