Rocha 1544

Another of my favourite models today - the wonderful Eleanor of Toledo, seen here painted in 1544 by the italian painter Bronzino. What I love about Eleanor is her directness. She looks straight out. A woman I think, in control of her own destiny which is not something that could be said of many of her contemporaries. Eleanor was married to Cosimo de Medici and it was apparently a long and happy marriage of equals which again can not be said of many of her contemporaries. Apparently she was a lover of fashion as well as a shrewd politician, keen agriculturist and student of medicine as well as ruling in her husband’s place when he was away. She was also pregnant a lot. Eleven times to be exact, with 8 children surviving into adulthood. And all this before she tragically died at the age of 40 from malaria.

So for the lover of fashion her I have given Eleanor this rather quirky 2024 outfit from SImone Rocha for Jean Paul Gaultier. I love the way it plays with the female shape, with its emphasis on the hips. Eleanor often had to dress to disguise her pregnancies. Would this outfit work for that? I’m not sure. But as an employer of a veritable army of seamstresses, weavers and embroiderers I think she would of appreciated the skill and ingenuity of its construction.

The original portrait is now in the glorious Uffizi in Florence.