The opportunity is known, makes the man a thief.
I did not let my occasion go.
One morning, by the end of January, in a cold Milan, but kissed by a warm sun, I arrived in Piazza Tommaseo armed with good intentions and above all with very good brioches from the Marchesi 1824 pastry shop.
It was 10,30 and I had an appointment. She sat and she smiled at me.
I open the pages of my notebook and start taking notes.
This is not meant to be a celebration, yet another.
I am not a journalist and this is not a recognized newspaper.
This is just a pleasant conversation with a woman, an entrepreneur, a lady, who welcomed me with kindness, giving me her time and anecdotes that today I can share with all of you.
50 years in business: better or luckier?
I was an avid worker who got lucky. I started working out of necessity. After separating from my first husband and moving from Genoa to Milan, I opened a shop in Largo V ° Alpini. My greatest luck was to have chosen a position far from the center, out of the fray. A difficult choice, but one that turned out to be a winning one. A few years later, in 1978, the move to nearby Piazza Tommaseo which would become the new headquarters of the Pupi Solari children's and women's stores and from 1991 also of Host, the boutique dedicated to men.
The woman or man you dressed with the most pleasure?
Ornella Muti. She was at the peak of her career and it was a pleasure to be able to have her as a client and as a friend. In man generally many, nobody in particular.
The designer you loved the most?
Without a doubt Romeo Gigli, I am sorry that he is gone by now. I had a beautiful relationship with him. A capable and kind man. Jil Sander whose travels in Germany I remember with pleasure. A woman who always made me feel important, even though I wasn't, Alberto Aspesi of whom I have always loved his attitude towards fashion and who despite has difficult character is a dear friend, a solid man. Fiorucci for whom I worked and which revolutionized everyday fashion and I especially appreciated the attitude towards life and the great Antonio Fusco.
A character who you could not stand?
Many... But I think I have a quality. I am never angry, I go further, because I hate wars and therefore I have always responded with a smile.
You have always been a divisive character, an anti-diva. What is your greatest vice and what is your greatest virtue?
My biggest vice? I have no discipline and I eat in a disordered way and all I want.
My greatest virtue is irony, I hate dark people because facing life with a smile is fundamental.
Yuppies or Paninari?
I never really got involved with any of them.
I take my leave, but not before Pupi says to me: "Your coat is beautiful, but it would have been better two centimeters longer."
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