Fashion Eccentric Anna Piaggi Dead at 81

Italian fashion legend Anna Piaggi has died at age 81. Famous for her original sense of style – and a shock of blue hair -- Piaggi made her career as a fashion journalist and longtime contributor to Italian Vogue.

By the end of her life, she had become a front-row fixture at fashion shows, and earned respect for her eccentric clothes and bright makeup. New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham once called her a “fine poet in clothes.” The Victoria and Albert Museum staged a collection of her fashion in 2006, which was entitled “Fashion-ology,” and included her 265 pairs of shoes and 2,865 dresses.

Piaggi passed away at her home in Milan. Many of her friends took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to share their thoughts. “So sad to hear that Anna Piaggi, one of my last icons of beauty & fashion has passed. She was the height of glamorous eccentricity,” wrote Dita Von Teese. “I will miss forever Anna Piaggi!!!” Tweeted Vogue Nippon editor Anna Dello Russo.