Anita Pallenberg ’60s Style: An Ode To The Rolling Stones Muse

Italian-born German actress, model and Rolling Stone muse Anita Pallenberg dies aged 73. Grazia remembers a style icon…

Published on14th June 2017 at 12.10pm

‘Retro chic, ‘Boho’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’. These buzzwords make the rounds every single fashion week, without fail. Oh the flares! The florals! The fringe! Here we are decades later, and there is something so alluring, so referenceable, about the ’60s and ‘70s rock groupies. Case in point: See Saint Laurent’s shows; the Hedi Slimane era.

These women were more than ‘The Frontman’s Girlfriend’. They were the original influencers. Crowd-pleasing bohemians. Who made headlines for their blunt blonde fringes, floppy hats and OTT fur drapery just as much as who they were dating at the time. Their style overshadowed their sex life – hurray!

You had your Marianne Faithfull, Jane Birkin, Bianca Jagger. And then there was of course, the coolly glamourous, Anita Pallenberg. Born in the mid 1940s to German and Italian parents, Pallenberg made a name for herself as a model and actress and hung out in New York in the ‘60s with Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ gang.

Much like Warhol’s immortalised superstar - Edie Sedgwick - Pallenberg soon garnered an ‘It’ girl status, after relationships with Rolling Stones bandmates Brian Jones and Keith Richards threw her into the spotlight (the pair were together for 12 years and had three children together).

Whether she was rocking a slip dress and furry jacket at a movie premiere or a white mini-dress at the airport, she was keen to have fun and play with clothes. Once declaring: ‘I’m completely anti-establishment; the only thing I like about the Queen are her scarves and her jewels. She knew what looked good - note to self: Big hats and skinny scarves are always a good idea - and gained a degree in fashion and textiles at Central Saint Martins in London in the 1990s.

To celebrate the honorary Rolling Stones member, let’s take a look back at Anita Pallenberg’s timeless gypset style…