Anyone who remembers the glory days of Supermodel-dom (late 80s, early 90s) will remember the face of Marpessa Hennink. She was everywhere and she was fabulous, standing out as an exotic beauty in a Caucasian dominated industry. Muse to Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Karl Lagerfeld and countless other designers, Marpessa paved the way for the next generation of models of color such as Yasmeen Ghauri, Nadege, Veronica Webb, Brandi and many more.
In 1987 Marpessa won the Fashion Oscar (Oscar de la Mode) in Paris for Best Runway Model and earned the nickname "Catwalk Contessa". Living a dream life in Ibiza as an Interior Designer/Photo Production entrepreneur/Mother, Marpessa still acts as model and muse today.
Happy Birthday, Marpessa! To celebrate, here are some of my favorite Marpessa moments:
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| Marpessa and Linda Evangelista in Chanel, 1988 |
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| wink, wink |
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| Marpessa with Karl Lagerfeld |
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| Marpessa closes the show with baby-faced designers Dolce & Gabbana in the 80s |
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| Marpessa (top left) with Versace girls Yasmeen Ghauri, Carla Bruni, Nadege, and Naomi Campbell. (1992) |
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| Backstage at Versace (bottom left corner) |
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| Marpessa in a Valentino Ad, 1989 |
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| Marpessa (left) with Gianni Versace, Christy Turlington and Gail Elliot |
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| Marpessa in 2009 |
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| Marpessa in 2011 |
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Marpessa on the Runway at Alberta Ferretti, Fall 2011 collection
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You can and should follow Marpessa on facebook
here
and on instagram
here
