August 20, 2023

Cicciolina by Giuliana Matarrese for Issue NO.01

Credits

PHOTOGRAPHY Katja Rahlwes
STYLING Ramona Rabita
SR. FASHION EDITOR Fabio Pace
HAIR Marco Minunno at Blend
MAKEUP Serena Congiu at Blend
NAILS Alessia Cannarazzo at WM
PRODUCTION Roberta Roveggio at Menouno
PHOTO ASSISTANT Peter Keyser
STYLING ASSISTANT Cristiano Bargi & Maria Meinero
TALENT Elena Anna Steller - Cicciolina
INTERVIEW Giuliana Matarrese

Sweater STYLIST’S OWN

Coat MAX MARA
Shoes N°21

Coat MAX MARA
Shoes DSQUARED2

Giuliana Materrese: Let’s start with a “technical” question: For this cover shoot, you posed in clothes from important fashion houses – Bottega Veneta, N°21, Marni. What is your relationship to fashion?

Cicciolina: I love fashion, I always have. My first modeling jobs included Wella commercials, but even when I went clubbing as a kid, I wore weird colored hats and outfits. In the past, I have walked the catwalk for famous stylists. In Rome in 1997, I wore a semi-transparent BDSM suit with a cape for Egon von Fürstenberg [Diane von Fürstenberg’s husband – Ed.]. And I walked twice for Jean Paul Gaultier – once in Vienna, in 1985, at the Life Ball [a charity event in support of AIDS research – Ed.] He sent me on the catwalk in a transparent flesh-colored dress, a naked dress, long before Chiara Ferragni did it on the Sanremo stage. The entire audience applauded. There are still photos online from that evening, when Jean-Paul and I kiss on the lips – you can look it up.
I still love to go to major fashion shows, and I do wear brands on the red carpet. I’m still in good shape, you know? Every age has its charm.

G.M: We’ll get back to that later, I do have more questions on that matter. Speaking of the shoot, this time, the photographer and stylist are both women. You must be used to enjoying a male gaze, what was it like working on a female set, instead?

C: I’m very happy to work with women. In my own way, I am a true feminist. For this shoot, they asked me to take a picture without makeup. I wasn’t convinced – I feel more comfortable with makeup, but they convinced me that I was more beautiful without makeup. I trusted them, but I’m a little apprehensive… Have you seen the photos?

G.M: No, I haven’t.

C: It’s very important: I live from my image, and I work a lot. The problem is that there are always the same guests invited on TV. I would like to have my own show, like Amanda Lear in the eighties, when she interviewed politicians and intellectuals in bed. I’m a funny person; I would do great. Instead, when my autobiography, Per amore e per forza, came out, Fabio Fazio didn’t invite me to Che tempo che fa. You know what? I’m glad he left Rai.

G.M: I haven’t read your biography yet, but on Wikipedia it says that when you were a young girl, you worked as a waitress at the Danube Continental, and the Hungarian secret services hired you as a spy. Is that true? Like Mata Hari…!

C: It’s true, but I won’t reveal too much as I’m currently working on turning my biography into a feature film. You’ll learn everything then. People won’t believe it… I’ve had a crazy life.

G.M: All right, but we can say that you left Hungary after meeting a guest of the Italian hotel, married him and arrived in Italy with him?

C: Yes, certainly.

G.M: What did you find when you arrived in Italy; did the country meet your expectations?

C: I found poverty. I had met the man as a guest of the hotel, we became friends, went out together for a while, we then got married and I came with him to Italy. The reality is that there was little money at home, he was 25 years older than me, so I had to roll up my sleeves to put food on the table, and I started modeling.

G.M: You then made up for it when you married Jeff Koons…

C: You have no idea. He was in competition with me. He was furious when they recognized me in the street and not him. I made him famous, yet he doesn’t pay me a cent in alimony or image rights. What a shame!

G.M: In fact, in 1987, he wasn’t as well known in Europe as you were – by then, you had made history with the famous crown of flowers on your head… How was that iconic look born?

C: I was shopping in the center of Rome, I saw a crown with petals, little roses, and ribbons on the sides. I tried it on and the sales assistant told me: “That is supposed to be worn around the neck.” But I liked it worn on my hair: That’s how it started. Then, if [Riccardo] Schicchi had been smarter, we would have said, “Cicciolina invented the chaplet” and I’d be a billionaire now.

G.M: However, billionaire or not, you left a deep mark in this country: You were the first former porn star in the world to be elected to a national parliament, the Italian Parliament. It was the year 1987 and you got a few less votes than the leader of the Radical Party, Marco Pannella. How was your passion for politics born?

C: I’ve always had a passion for politics. Even in my shows before being in the Parliament, I spoke of animal rights and ecological topics. I simply asked Marco to put me on the list, that’s how I started. I made 10 bills, I wanted to abolish the Merlin law, get an ecological tax approved…

Jacket DIESEL

G.M: Among your proposals, there was one against vivisection, one for the sexual freedom of prisoners, and another for sex education in schools, to inform children about the dangers of AIDS. These are still highly debated topics today; you were quite advanced for the time. How was that last proposal received then?

C: Not everyone was happy, but I received compliments from the socialists: They told me that my proposals were most intelligent. I believe that today, like then, there is a great lack of information, especially underserved communities should to be more aware of the matter. We need to make information campaigns on the radio, TV, newspapers, talk about contraceptive methods.

G.M: Did you know that Leonardo Sciascia made the following comment on your election: “It shows that Italians have a sense of humor. It’s a great find by the Radical Party, I find it amusing. And, behold, a Pirandellian twist of events may happen: Cicciolina may turn out to be an impeccable parliamentarian. Who can say? And, in any case, a stripper is always better than a thief.”
Were you an impeccable parliamentarian?

C: I’ve certainly never been a thief. At most, they robbed me [in 2014 thieves sneaked into her house and stole her personal archive – Ed.]. On the other hand, there were several “sticky-fingers” in the Italian Parliament, which isn’t really shocking to anyone, I suppose.

G.M: A few months ago, we saw you on TV with your son with Jeff Koons, Ludwig, who is now in his thirties. Jeff tried to take custody from you. What kind of mother are you?

C: I spoiled my son! However, he has his father’s temperament. He’s an artist, and so am I. He paints, draws, very beautiful work. Unfortunately, he has an absent father who never helped him, perhaps due to the same competitive spirit he had with me…

G.M: At last, after many years, since January, there is no longer an arrest warrant against you in the United States [for having taken her son out of the country – Ed.]. Have you already planned your return to the States?

C: I would love to go back soon. I have to thank my lawyer Luca Di Carlo for this outcome; I’m very happy. I have many friends in America… like Larissa Thomas, a transgender person who’s very dear to me. I feel very close to the causes of the LGBTQ community – when I see injustices or discrimination against them, I can’t sit and watch in silence. In fact, I am also a gay icon.

G.M: And you’re a fashion icon: At the latest Bottega Veneta show, you were in the front row. What is your relationship with the creative director, Matthieu Blazy?

C: Matthieu is a lovely person. For his shows – I was invited twice – he asked me to wear simple, long, turtleneck dresses in sober shades – dark green, hazelnut, black. I call him my “teddy bear” because he is so sweet, I would take him to bed with me. For sleeping, of course. I’d cover him with kisses on his cheeks: His skin is incredibly soft, just amazing.

G.M: However, not everyone has the same opinion as Blazy: Some brands refused to dress you for this shoot. Are they afraid of being associated with a character with a wild past like yours? Why do you think that, in a world where social networks digest everything so quickly, Cicciolina still unforgettable and uncomfortable?

C: Who knows? I stopped working in hardcore cinema at the end of the 80s, while social media is full of people who undress constantly, without any inhibitions. And they’re scared of me? I don’t get it.

G.M: Do you use social media?

C: I have Instagram and TikTok. I would like to use them better, but they take up too much time… You open the app, and when you close it, two hours have passed. But people write me and I love my fans. Of course, there are some idiots who tell me what they would like to do with me: My reply to them is usually that they can buy vintage archival material and underwear from some of my films on my website (cicciolinaonline.com).

G.M: Everyone thinks they know Cicciolina, what does the public not know about you?

C: I love playing chess, for one thing. In reality, people don’t know much about me at all. But they will soon, when I bring my memoir to the movie screen. It will be a sweet and spicy story, in true Cicciolina style.

G.M: We can’t wait! Thank you.

C: Thank you! Ah, and please remember to send my regards to my beloved teddy bear.

G.M: To Matthieu Blazy?

C: Yes, what a lovely person.