CHANEL BY RIZZO TRIBUTE BOOK AS TO HIS UNIQUE WORK OF GENTLEMAN PHOTOGRAPHER

USPA NEWS - “Chanel by Willy Rizzo“ is the meeting of two giants consecrations in the book, compiling some of their works. It offers an insight into the intimate world of “Mademoiselle Chanel´s“ work with 181 original or unpublished photos compiled in a catalog.

This article has been realised thanks to the help and contribution of young and talented fashion photographer John Hennequin, who has performed the photographs illustrating this publication. Thanks to him. See www.johnhennequin.com---- --------------WILLY RIZZO IS RECOGNISED BY HIS PEERS AND EVEN MORE THANKS TO HIS TALENT AS HE MADE UNIQUE PHOTOS---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Willy Rizzo, is an international photographer to the sparkling eyes, recognised by his peers, for his talent was also the discreet confidant of the most “Great Lady of fashion." A book released called "Chanel by Rizzo" is a unique work as a tribute to his honorary career.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This pretty action was completed by Dominique Rizzo, his wife, helped by their children, did a tribute to Willy Rizzo the "Gentleman photographer", by publishing this book bringing together 181 unique of his photos. The book traces the different periods of the life of Chanel, who returned in 1954 after the war to the roaring years from 1960 to 1967. The book, then traces the splendor period of Coco Chanel who experienced the success and glory of the house Chanel, between 1955 and 1959. The texts of Edmonde Charles-Roux, Olivier Saillard, Arnold Contades to Daniel Rangel photographs round up the tale of Willy Rizzo, as if to express what we already feel by the picture.---------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an elegant way to celebrate the very strong ties at a time of confidence, friendship, complicity and mutual admiration between the two legends in their respective fields that are Coco Chanel and Willy Rizzo. They show, through this book that friendship, 60 years later, is a jewel that will never become "old fashion" because it crosses the eras and remains engraved in the memories and space, timeless and eternal.

WILLY RIZZO MOST RENOWNED PHOTOGRAPH WORLDWIDE FOR FASHION AND FURNITURE DESIGN Willy Rizzo has another passion was the furniture design, apart from his obvious talent to sublimate the fashion models, under his trained eye photographer.----------------------------------------------------In 1968, he moved to Rome and began his work as a designer, first for his personal needs. He managed to create his own collection, influenced by big names like Le Corbusier. He created his own company, which had up to 150 employees.--------------------------------------------------------------- A decade later, he left his designer activity to go back to France and to his first passion, photography. Rizzo´s original venture into furniture design began in Rome and took place during an often reported visit to a Roman hair salon on the Piazza di Spagna in 1966. By testing the hairdresser´s knowledge of local real estate agents, he ended up signing a six-month lease on an abandoned commercial apartment, barely habitable and without running water. Rizzo quickly set about turning the empty office into a living space, complete with brown and gold walls and custom-designed sofas, coffee tables, consoles and hi-fi storage units.

WILLY RIZZO WAS ALSO THE CONFIDANT OF THE GREAT FASHION LADY : COCO CHANEL----------------------- Hailing from a family of Naples, Willy Rizzo made his first photographs from childhood, photographing his classmates with an Agfa Box offered by his mother. Willy Rizzo was born on 22 October 1928, and died on 25 February 2013 and was an Italian photographer and designer.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “In late 1948, Willy began an illustrious twenty-year career with Paris Match that would have him photograph some of the greatest names of the golden age of photojournalism. Married later to actress Elsa Martinelli, Rizzo enjoyed unparalleled access to the stars; Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso all found themselves in front of Rizzo´s lens. Willy photographed Marilyn Monroe in February 1962. He was one of the last photographers to take pictures of her. Assignments with Paris Match would also take him to the Nuremberg Trials and the French Indochina war.“ (Source Paris Match, magazine).

Attracted by the allure of the United States and the then still mythical world of the Californian celebrity, Rizzo travelled to New York to work with the Black Star Agency in the developing America of the post-war years. During this time, he succeeded in capturing and reporting on Hollywood legends, such as Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper.----------------------------- In 1960, he work for Marie Claire, Richard Thérond wanted to make a topic on the zodiac with starlets before the tapestries of Jean Lurcat. He likes the idea and decides to make a whole topic with great personalities of the Art with his staging. This gave, for example, a beautiful photo shoot with Coco Chanel and The Lion in 1960, in his studios.--------------------------------- Among the countless treasures left by the “Gentleman of the arts“ to his demise in 2013, one resurfaced for the happiness of all : that of capturing photo sessions without the knowledge of his hostess concentrated the essence of creation. Texts of Edmonde Charles-Roux of the Goncourt Academy; Saillard Olivier, Director of the Musée Galliera; Arnold Contades, former director of the group Jean Prouvost; Danniel of Rangel, journalist and curator and Vogue Brazil Fabrice Gaignault, editor of Marie Claire Cultural accompany the book.

Though never his intention to become a furniture designer, Rizzo's friends, clients and contacts, many forming the upper crust of the fashion and film industries, fell in love with his creations and he was swamped with orders and requests. Willy Rizzo was uniquely placed as a designer for the Dolce Vita, being himself a part of the world for which he was designing. Infamous playboys, such as Rodolfo Parisi, Gigli Rizzi and Franco Rapetti, were some of his earliest clients. Salvador Dalí commissioned a number of pieces, as did Brigitte Bardot for the interior of La Madrague in St. Tropez. Being a consummate playboy of the era, Rizzo´s client list is testament to how close his furniture was to the mark.----------------------- Willy Rizzo's furniture is now widely exhibited, notably in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He returned to furniture design for a period in the late 1980s and then again in the mid-2000s, in collaboration with Paul Smith and Mallett Antiques. In 2010, at the age of 82, he opened his first gallery in Paris with the help of his wife, Elsa and his son, Willy Rizzo, Jr. "Chanel par Wily Rizzo" published by Editions Minerve.“¨“¨