The beautiful muse of fashion photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri and the former fashion editor of Vogue magazine has recently passed away in Milan, Italy.
- Nov 18, 2020
AceShowbiz - Modelling icon Isa Stoppi has died in Milan, Italy.
The muse of fashion photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri was among the hottest models throughout the 1960s thanks to a 1964 shot she posed for with a snake.
"I will never forget the first time I met her," the revered snapper tells WWD.com. "I got in touch with her through my brother, always very sensitive to beauty. I was looking for models posing for me and we did a catalogue together: we shot swimsuits for Standa (Italian chain) but it didn’t turn out so well. Isa had a bang at that time and her haircut was too ordinary. But I had the feeling that there was something magic about her and that’s why I decided to believe in her and work with her again."
Barbieri recruited Elizabeth Arden makeup artist Pablo Manzoni to help him "find a more interesting look for her," adding, "We brought her to the Arden salon on Via Montenapoleone, where they gave her a more glamorous cut with no bangs and a more luminous shade of blonde: the result was incredible. Without the bang, the eyes stood out and they became the most interesting part of her face."
"We made a test. Pablo created a makeup using tiny flowers and I borrowed a python from Milan's zoo; we made a great picture."
Born in Libya, Stoppi was raised in Italy and represented her country at the Miss Universe pageant in 1962.
She became a fixture in American Vogue and featured in ad campaigns photographed by the likes of Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Milton Greene, and Bert Stern.
She stepped down from the runway in the early 1970s but continued to work for Vogue as the publication's fashion editor until the birth of her second son.
