Striking resemblance to her great idol Marilyn Monroe: Suzie Kennedy in the Berlin lookalike show “Stars in Concert”  (Photo credit: Stars in Concert)

When Suzie Kennedy walks into a room, everyone in it takes a trip back in time. With her bleach-blonde hair, bright red lips and porcelain skin, she’s the spitting image of Marilyn Monroe. The similarities are not just skin-deep; she sings, speaks and even moves just like the glamorous Hollywood star. All in all, the resemblances pay off, not least when portraying Monroe in the internationally-renowned tribute show “Stars in Concert” as Kennedy has done for the last eight years.

“Acting was never my dream job”, Kennedy says. She wanted to be a vet, but her family couldn’t afford the tuition. She was born to a teacher and a draughtsman in Grants Pass, a city close to the Californian border in Oregon, USA. Kennedy’s parents separated when she was two years old.

She looks confusingly similar

She and her older sister grew up in London, and their father died when Kennedy was just a teenager. Her talents for singing and dancing were discovered by sheer stroke of luck, when, at the age of 15, she applied for work experience running errands for a dance school. The school let her take free ballet classes every day as payment. Afterwards, when Kennedy was studying for her A-Levels at college, people began commenting on her likeness to the Hollywood icon. An agent sent her to an audition, and she landed her breakthrough job: filming an advert for Nestlé with supermodel Naomi Campbell. From then on, the jobs came rolling in. Kennedy has worked for the likes of Citroën and Pepsi, and has appeared in international theatre, TV, and film productions. Acting alongside stars such as Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, she’s had roles in the documentary “Who Killed Marilyn Monroe”, the Italian film “Io & Marilyn” and “Blade Runner 2049”.

In 2016, Kennedy modelled Monroe’s iconic clothes for the auction house Julien’s Auctions. By happy coincidence, she is the same size as Marilyn was. The star was known for her curvaceous figure, but, as Kennedy stresses: “Marilyn was actually very delicate. She almost had a fragility to her.” Kennedy drastically changed her diet several years ago. Today, she is a vegetarian and stays trim thanks to her discipline, daily jogging, and working out with weights. Maintaining her flawless alabaster skin is simple in comparison: She doesn’t smoke and religiously applies a cream with SPF 50.

“I can’t just take off this look”, Suzie Kennedy says. (Photo credit: NOVA Productions)

Kennedy’s wardrobe contains 40 replicas of the Hollywood legend’s iconic outfits. Her collection includes a dress identical to the one Monroe wore when she famously sang “Happy Birthday, Mr President” for the former U.S. president John F. Kennedy: a skin-tight silky number with thousands of crystals hand-sewn onto the fabric. The original sold for 4.8 million dollars at an auction to Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in America. Kennedy – the name is another happy coincidence – is regularly booked to perform the birthday song, with audiences including American TV star Eva Longoria and British businessman Sir Richard Branson.

In 2017, Kennedy won the accolade “Best Female Double” in Las Vegas for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. It was also in L.A. that she was discovered by “Stars in Concert” producer, Bernhard Kurz, back in 2010. Since then, she’s appeared regularly in the line-up of the internationally-renowned tribute show.

Kennedy becomes Monroe on-stage, but even off-stage, she lives and breathes the spirit of the Hollywood icon. She has read every biography and watched every film Monroe has acted in. “Marilyn is my soul mate. I’m just like her: vulnerable and a little shy, but I know exactly what I want.” They also share a difficult childhood; both women grew up without a father. “I admire Marilyn for the uncompromising willpower that helped her become the most famous woman of her time.”

Marilyn, her soul mate

Six years ago, Kennedy got her first tattoo out of gratitude towards her idol – a portrait of Monroe on her right wrist. “Marilyn changed my life. Everything I do, I do because of her.” Since then, the Hollywood star is always with Kennedy. “While I was getting this tattoo, I could feel her becoming a part of me.”

Kennedy has a twinkle in her green eyes when she confesses that there are, of course, some differences between the two women. For one, Monroe’s eyes were blue, and Kennedy believes that her idol got mixed up with the wrong crowd. “I’m lucky to have such wonderful friends, not to mention a great relationship with my mother”, she reflects. “But for me, the most important thing is my faith in God.” Even when she’s performing in Berlin, Kennedy prays every day and goes to Sunday services at the American Church.

Kennedy regards Berlin as a home away from her real home in London, where she lives with her pug dog and two cats. She loves the cosmopolitan vibe of the German capital, which is relatively affordable compared to London. Her favourite spot is the “Thai Park”, where an informal weekly food market sells fresh Asian delicacies for just a few euros.

Six years ago, Kennedy got her first tattoo out of gratitude towards her idol (Photo credit: NOVA Productions)

Does she always channel Monroe in her day-to-day life? “I can’t just take off this look”, Kennedy says. She is often mistaken for Monroe when she’s out and about in the supermarket or in restaurants. “It has its benefits. I always get a table”, she laughs. However, her sensuous look has its downsides, too: some see her as a “blonde bimbo”, a stereotype that Monroe also struggled against all her life.

Is it difficult, always pretending to be someone else? “Lots of people would probably be happier if they were able to escape themselves now and then”, Kennedy answers with a smile. She has been portraying Monroe for over two decades now, but she won’t be able to play the starlet forever. Although she looks much younger than her 42 years, Kennedy is now older than her idol ever was – Monroe died at 36 under mysterious circumstances. Kennedy is well aware that the bookings will eventually dry up, marking the end of her career as a look-alike. Marilyn Monroe is her defining role, and she can’t imagine ever playing another person. “Being Marilyn isn’t a job, it’s an honour.” BvH

Suzie Kennedy hopes to perform as Marilyn Monroe in the Berlin “Stars in Concert” show at the Estrel Hotel soon again (Photo credit: NOVA Productions)

Contact and Infos:

stars-in-concert.de

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“My favourite scent? Pure rose. Rose is my element”, says Sileno Cheloni. Hundreds of ingredients are given to be used for the design of his tailored olfactory compositions

MyStylery: Sileno, did you always know that you wanted to be a perfumer someday?
Sileno Chileno: No, it’s a long story. I always had a passion for perfumes and fragrances and I remember when I was young, I often visited my uncle who lived in the South of France and I bought things I couldn’t find in Italy. If I had to decide whether to buy a jacket or a perfume, I would have bought the perfume, because it was my way to distinguish myself. The smell was a very important part of my dressing.
MS: That’s interesting, I have never thought about a perfume being a piece of clothing.
SC: Absolutely. Even today I say to my clients that wearing a perfume is like wearing a suit. It’s the same. Of course it depends where you go and what you do, you wear the perfume in a certain way. Depending on the situation you will wear the same fragrance but with a different attitude. What I want to transmit to people is the experience, not just the smell.

Sileno Cheloni: Composer, creator, master perfumer. Like a conductor, he harmonizes olfactory notes like a musical score, translating them into a previously imagined olfactory form

MS: How did you become a perfumer then? Did you visit a special school?
SC: I first studied visual arts to become a photographer and a designer, always searching for spirituality. I learned about the Sufism philosophy, which is connected to the Hindu religion and the Islam, but the spiritual part of the Islam, not with any political aspect. And during my travels to the island of Cyprus I met a perfumer who was an inspiration. I bought many essences and oils and when I arrived at home I created my first scent in my laundry room. That used to be my first laboratory 20 years ago. And the process of composing a scent is a non material world. One composes on a different level. It’s something you don’t see.
MS: But you can see the liquid…
SC: Yes, of course you can see the liquid in the bottle, but it’s like going to a concert and recording the music you can listen to after the concert is over. But the emotion is gone. You can’t preserve the emotion. From the moment when I created my first scent, I felt that is going to be my job, I felt the passion inside, which was so strong that there was no alternative…

Creating perfume is emotion

MS: You had no other choice then…
SC: Yes. But I didn’t have any finances or business. The most difficult thing is finding the right raw materials. The perfume market is a huge industry and also a huge investment, because you need thousands of kilos of materials and in the beginning, I had no idea how to manage this part. Imagine, I presented my first collection in London at Harrod’s on the fifth floor, where you can find the most selective perfume brands in the world and the most expensive fragrances. And in this exclusive surrounding I provided my perfumes made of 50 different raw materials, produced in my laundry at home. And the most astonishing thing was that they wanted my creations. So Harrod’s became my first customer.
MS: How many bottles did you sell?
SC: About one hundred of each of my five perfumes. This is how it started. Then I realized that I needed support in order to get a better source for the raw materials and other conditions for the production, because it’s hard to get access to the market. One of my favourite ingredients, the May Rose of the area of Grass in Provence, I can’t even buy today. Although I met a guy years ago, who is the son of the biggest Italian perfumers, who is my best friend today. But the May Rose is exclusively produced for the company of Christian Dior.

Sileno Cheloni: He also developed the signature fragrance of Gucci a few years ago

MS: What is the most important requirement for your job – Is it a good nose?
SC: Of course the nose is important. But it’s more about creativity, ideas and passion.
MS: Have you ever read the book “The Parfum” by Patrick Süskind?
SC: Yes. And I liked it very much. It’s a little exaggerated but the sensation of the job is well described. You have to be involved with the smell. Even when I am on holiday, I am focussed on all the smells and influences. I keep all these information to use it at some point.

A good nose is important

MS: Are there any fragrances you don’t like at all?
SC: To be honest, I like all of them. Even the worst (laughs).
MS: Also Christian Dior’s “Poison”? I will never forget the American shopping malls in the 80s, with the heavy smell of “Poison” everywhere.
SC: If you like “Poison”, then you should wear it. But if you go to a restaurant or bar, where other people are eating and drinking, don’t bother them with such an intense scent. It’s not at all elegant, because it’s disturbing and leaves a bouquet five meters behind you. When visiting a bar or restaurant, you better wear your perfume on your skin. Not on your clothes. So people get to know about your perfume, when they come close to you.

“Better wear perfume on your skin. So people get to know about your perfume, when they come close to you.”

MS: Before you started your own brand in Florence, you were working for Gucci and other luxury brands. What was the main difference in your work?
SC: I still work for these companies and develop home fragrances and scented candles for example. This expands my creativity. Working for a big company means talking to many people, the marketing, the designer, the responsibilities, always focussing on the brand’s image. For example every Gucci store you enter there is a certain smell, which has to tell you something about the company. And I created that smell. On the other hand my brand is, where I can express myself and nobody can tell me, how.
MS: Every year there are hundreds of new fragrances floating the market – they come and they go. I wonder, why there are only a few becoming real classics.
SC: Everybody is copying each other. But each company launches one perfume, which is a little bit more different from the others. Normally this is the one, they sell less. But sometime – and we don’t know why – this perfume becomes very famous. And it gets so much commercial attention. Think about Davidoff or L’Hiver de Guerlain, it’s been there for twenty years. These perfumes were completely different compared to others on the market and the market was ready for something new. That is why oud – a strong oriental scent – is famous in the market, although it started first in a niche.

The master perfumer Sileno Cheloni and I after our interview: “A good perfumer must be a bit chemical but above all an artist and a visionary.”

MS: There are fragrances, some of them a hundered years old, which we wouldn’t use anymore.
SC: Yes, and many factors why an old perfume doesn’t work in today’s market. A beautiful car from the thirties is also difficult to drive today, there are spare parts, no advanced technology nor an AC. But lots of pollution.
MS: Do you remember how many fragrances you have created in your career as a perfumer?
SC: I don’t (laughs)…
MS: Is there a new trend or do you consider trends at all?
SC: What I like more is working on a smaller level and influence the new trend. This is much more interesting. Creating a trend doesn’t make you feel very happy. It can only happen when having several experts on your side, a very good business man next to you. You will be like a part of a perfect machine. I prefer having my own little place, where I can express myself and from there influencing the big brands instead of following. BvH

Contact:

silenocheloni.it

More interviews you can find here.

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In the heart of Munich is the Meindl Authentic Luxury Store, where I easily bring my credit card to glow

He is the Grand Seigneur of fashion, being in the industry for more than 30 years. One who has seen it all and knows the fashion industry more than any other: Rolf Griesinger. For many years the sales-and product-manager pampered German companies and got them back on track, he took care of the distribution of the Joop and Kenzo licenses and was responsible for the product management of Falke-Fashion. Griesinger was involved in building the luxury brand René Lezard and brought, with his agency, international high-end labels to Germany. Since 1976, the in the Black Forest born Griesinger, who looks with his snow-white hair and tanned skin a bit like Gunter Sachs, lives in Munich. Here he opened the Meindl Authentic Luxury Store in 2012, where he clothed celebrities and privates with luxury Lederhosen. Even though the successful entrepreneur wanted to turn his back to the fashion-circus long ago.

Knows the fashion industry more than any other: The chosen-Munich and fashion entrepreneur Rolf Griesinger is a qualified textile management expert

MyStylery: Rolf, you really don’t look like a privateer in the retirement age to me.
Rolf Griesinger (laughs): This is what I thought too back then. Actually, I wanted to stop at the age of 55 and have a good life. But lunching with friends every day is too boring for me. I am neither a club-person nor suits me to play golf. Given that, I’m definitely not created for retired life.
MS: What was the challenge for you that made you try the plunge into the competitive retail again?
RG: When they offered me the store amidst the center of Munich, I immediately saw the potential. The ideal location near the Vierjahreszeiten, the Mandarin Oriental and the restaurant Schuhbeck corresponds to the radius of my clients, I just had to do it. Also, the traditional company Meindl was not present with an own shop in Munich and I was able to convince the Meindls with a cooperation and my concept.

Here tradition meets with high fashion

MS: What’s your strategy?
RG: I did not plan the classic garb business, which is why we don’t have Dirndls. The idea to combine tradition with high fashion is much cooler and distinguishes us from the competitors. I just wanted to know again.
MS: The concept seems to be approved by your customers quite well. You even dress the players of FC Bayern.
RG: We now have around 800 regular customers, interestingly, many Swiss, Italians, Americans and many VIPs. But there are no celebrity bonuses. All clients receive the same treatment and attention. Even TV celebs don’t get free Lederhosen here (smiles).
MS: Were there any trends that you have misjudged in your long career?
RG: Yes, the impact of the Internet on the purchasing behavior of customers. I could not have imagined that women even order their evening dresses in the net without having touched the fabric. I did not expect that the online trading market will develop so rapidly.

The shop silhouette reflects in the stylish lamps by Tom Dixon

MS: The clothing is similar to a concept store : You also present shoes, scarves, perfumes, watches, bags …
RG: With that I want to express my lifestyle. I like to discover the newcomers of the industry, and if I like a brand, then I’ll buy them.
MS: More and more stores close and retailoring has become an increasingly difficult and risky business.
RG: Yes, especially multi-brand shops are dying out. No wonder, given the exorbitant rents of commercial properties. That can only be afforded by the high-end labels, which in turn results in that the inner cities all look the same. I am an advocate with manageable dimensions. These can also be controlled better. Because in the end I am responsible for everything. I am proud that I didn’t need a Bank since ten years and that I am able to finance my business myself. This is an incredible feeling of freedom. For this, one needs no millions. It is a question of scale.
MS: You are the father of a grown-up son. Have you given him this attitude on his way?
RG: I think so. These are values that I stand for. The education of my son was important to me. A good education cannot be replaced. This includes staying abroad and foreign languages. My father was a watchmaker, I have a humble background and have always suffered from the fact that I am not so good with different languages.

Sweet, the leather jackets of Meindl for the fashion-conscious offspring

MS: Is there still time for privacy given all the action? How do you relax?
RG: I am passionate motorcyclist. Cruising through the countryside with my Harley makes me happy. I’m not a champagne type, don’t need a yacht or other luxury. Here and there, I have taken hiatuses. After 25 years in product management I needed a change of scenery and traveled through Australia for several months. That was one of the best decisions ever.
MS: In addition you’re a convinced Ibiza lover. In Ibiza we have also come to know each other…
RG (laughs) Right. At the beach of Tropicana Beach Club. When I came there in the 70s, there were only hippies. Later I had a house up in San Juan and to my neighbors counted Jade Jagger, whose father Mick Jagger is good friends with Kate Moss and Nina Hagen. This was an interesting clique. The island was a paradise for sannyasins. But that was never my world, just as drugs and the today exaggerated luxury tourism. For that I am too homespun. BvH

Proper in Lederhosen and Bavarian ‘Janker’-jacket: The football-stars from FC-Bayern Munich

In addition to the classic Lederhosen from Meindl …

… there are i.a. Cashmere from Allude and FFC, shirts from Salvatore Piccolo, Jeans by Adriano Goldschmied …

… clothes from Missoni, the collection of Paul Smith, Crossley, IQ Berlin …

… and my personal favorite: Camouflage-Cashmereshawls by Novelty

Cool guy: Fashion expert and motorcyclist Rolf Griesinger wearing a cool Bikerjacket

How about a costume dress made of suede for next ‘Octoberfest’?

Also the celebrities love Lederhosen. “But never speak their names,” says fashion entrepreneur Rolf Griesinger who appreciates his customers’ trust

Contact Rolf Griesinger:

www.griesinger-mode.de

www.meindl-munich.com

The post Rolf Griesinger, the Grand Seigneur of Fashion appeared first on My Stylery.

Premium exhibition hall in the spring of 2015: The number of visitors is large

Clear the ring! From the 6th until the 10th of July it’s Berlin Fashion Week and a whole branch goes wild. When the international fashion scene comes to the capital this week, Berlin transforms more and more to a big catwalk, and therefore the meeting point of international designers, salespersons, representatives of the fashion industry and the stars. Parallel, the Premium opens its doors on the 8th of July, the biggest fashion fair in Germany, whose cofounder is Anita Tillmann. In 2003, the studied textile- and apparel engineer organized her first fashion fair in the disused rail tunnel of line three, below the Potsdamer Platz.

Anita Tillmann, fashion-enthusiastic managing director of Premium fair

MyStylery: What motivated you to initiate a fashion fair in Berlin?
Anita Tillmann: In 2002, the market was dead; everywhere you looked were the same German labels like Boss or Strenesse. The idea of the Premium was to bring international and young designers to Berlin. We act by a “curated concept”, where the product is focused on and not the optic of a complex arranged stand. Here, it’s not the one who pays the most or books first who gets the biggest and best stand.

Distributors and industry experts evaluate the collections of the exhibitors

MS: You set yourself to support the young from the start. Not only with the Premium, but also with the, by you and other fashion experts recently launched initiative, “Fashion Council Germany”.*
AT: We support young design talents by offering them areas on the Premium to show their collections. I wish the old-established, German fashion companies would internalize this thought in order to make space for new ideas. We need the young and have to promote them accordingly. It’s like football.

Not only the big brands are presented

MS: Street-Style influences fashion more and more. Can’t the established designers think of anything new?
AT: We live in the selfie-culture of a digital world, what strengthened the interest in fashion of young people. This is a new influence, which also makes fashion fast-moving and requires a new approach.
MS: However, the young fashion design often stays prohibitive, even for the small budget.
AT: Yes, because also the young designers produce little quantities in Europe. The more pieces get produced, the cheaper the product and hence the final price will be.

Here an order is placed

MS: Many designers aren’t present on the Berlin Fashion Week anymore and show their collections in Dusseldorf or Paris instead.
AT: No one shows in Dusseldorf anymore. This surely is a cost factor as well. Also, people start to question the show concept: the press reports about which children of prominent sportsmen sit in the first row as invited VIP’s, instead of talking about the shown collections. Here, things should be improved, with more seats for fashion experts and fashion press.

Fashion experts among themselves: Premium-chief Anita Tillmann (right) with Gabriele Frantzen (Jewelry) and Annette Weber from Instyle magazine (left)

MS: Isn’t it very presumptuous, that, especially in foreign countries, the Berlin Fashion Week gets derided on and so arguably isn’t taken seriously?
AT: Absolutely. Though Milan, London, Paris and New York underestimate with their attitude the German market and its purchasing power. Maybe its also an expression of fear. The market is growing constantly. One can’t pass Germany anymore. BvH

*Fashion Council Germany is the merger of influential, German fashion experts – i.a. Vogue-chief editor Christiane Arp – who wanted to lead the focus onto the German market and to in Germany produced fashion. Fashion should be noticed as a cultural- and economical good, young designers should be supported and the medial perception of German fashion design should be strengthened.

Contact:
www.premiumexhibitions.com

Photos by Premium

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