Anna Dello Russo

Helmut Newton refers to her as a "fashion maniac." Over the last few seasons, the slender creative director of Vogue Japan has acquired a fashion icon status. Anna Dello Russo and her 4000 pairs of shoes are now a part of the Condé Nast female trio, along with Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfeld.

Last summer's favorite t-shirt may have been stamped with "Karl Who?", but this year, it is the Dello Russo model, worth their weight in hype value, that sold out in less than 24 hours at Yoox.com.

Originally from Bari in southern Italy, Dello Russo was drawn to fashion at a young age. Everything from her mother's dresses to the jewelry worn by the women of the area increased her desire to grow up so that she could buy herself more and more clothes.

She admitted to worshipping Gucci (whose logo has become the holy grail for a good number of fashionistas) by the time she was 12, to the point that when her father decided to bring her to Rome to buy her a Gucci bag, her joy was indescribable.

This being said, while the teenage Dello Russo may have been passionate about fashion, she preferred developing her cultural side by studying art history and Italian literature. It was only after she finished her education that she enrolled in a Milan masters program in fashion (where one of her professors was Gianfranco Ferré).

A short time later, she found herself working for Donna magazine where she met Annalisa Milella. Milella was an employee of Condé Nast and managed to find a place for Dello Russo at Vogue Italy, which led to an 18-year collaboration.

Little by little, Dello Russo got her bearings and forged friendships with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana when they were at the beginning of their career. She shared with them the same obsessive fascination with fashion. She helped them develop their fashion shows and to define the Dolce&Gabbana woman. She was also the one who recently advised them to invite the crème de la crème of the international bloggers to their show.

Dello Russo worked as a stylist for Vogue then editor in chief for Vogue Uomo for 6 years, but also as a consultant for numerous influential houses. Franca Sozzani of Condé Nast found her working in so many positions incompatible with the magazine's code of ethics, however, and Dello Russo lost her job.

Yet after all those years spent at the heart of the fashion world, Dello Russo had built a solid contact list. She was thus able to face a new career in freelancing with calm and serenity. In particular, she collaborated with Vogue Japan where she quickly became their creative director.

Her career, allowing her to shop as much as she wanted and remain in daily contact with the high-end fashion that she adored, could have satisfied her; but it was not until Dello Russo crossed over to the other side of the looking glass that she found fulfillment. It was 2007, and her maniacally detailed looks (during fashion weeks she changes up to 4 times per day) attracted the attention of Scott Schuman and Tommy Ton. Thanks to their respective blogs, Dello Russo was promoted up to the rank of international muse.

Faced with the infatuation that her fresh-off- the-catwalk looks inspired, Dello Russo began to consider her public appearances as a job in and of itself. She scrutinized her outfits in order to preserve her style while continuing to keep her fan club in suspense.

A confirmed collector of high-end pieces (which she never wears more than twice), she started thinking about her outfits 6 months in advance. Always wanting to dazzle her groupies and street-stylers, she began to sport jewelry as baroque as it was showy.

Obsessed by her image and convinced of the necessity to always be on top, Dello Russo leaves nothing to chance. Everything is managed to perfection, from her sylph-like silhouette (maintained thanks to a strict diet and weekly yoga sessions) to her gigantic wardrobe (that has overflowed into the kitchen), which she meticulously sorts and preserves, to her contacts with the fashion world's up and coming new generation and her presence in all the new medias (she maintains her own blog).

She completely assumes her somewhat schizophrenic personality, alternating her extended yoga vacations in India with excessive fashion habits during the fashion weeks. According to her, this is what makes fashion so exciting.

Pleasant (it is not unusual to see her smile openly to those who call out to her), fetishist (her wardrobe would cause any wannabe bryanboy to sell his soul), and excessive (with the sense of humor and elegance necessary to avoid becoming ridiculous), Vogue Japan's DA is currently an entity apart with a good chance of keeping the fashion world fascinated for some time to come.

The 10 commandments of Anna Dello Russo: http://www.annadellorusso.com/2010/06/blog-post_06.html