A lover of elegance and good taste, eyewear stylist Angelica Pagnelli talks to Simonne Pace about the perfect image, her job and her third trip to Malta.
Italian image expert Angelica Pagnelli will be visiting Malta for the third time to give free eyewear consultations during an event themed ‘Can style be a spectacle?’ at O’hea Opticians, Gżira.
A member of the Association of Image Consultants International in the US and of the Accademia del Lusso in Milan, where she specialised in image, Pagnelli says people go to her mainly to increase their self-confidence in social life.
The president of Immagini & Modi also works as a freelancer, organising seminars and teaching about personal style.
Pagnelli’s main field of expertise is eyewear. After analysing lifestyle, eye zone, face shape and colour, she helps an individual choose the right optical frame, sunglasses or cosmetic lenses for their face.
Having worked with politicians, fashion designers and other big personalities worldwide, the Italian, who oozes self-confidence, recounts a funny incident. “A high-profile politician from Rome once decided to involve me in managing the move to his new house and in his approach to his new love. I felt so important,” she chuckles.
Having met Silvio Berlusconi three times in her life, Pagnelli admits she has never worked directly with the former Italian prime minister but only with his entourage. At the time, she was into politics.
“I then decided to specialise in image consultancy, cleverly using my political background and expertise acquired over the years,” she says frankly. Pagnelli also advises doctors and aesthetics surgeons and teaches students of aesthetic medicine at the University of Parma.
For Pagnelli, the perfect image is the perfect mixture of appearance, etiquette and sensibility, which are what make a person unique and recognisable. “Everyone is beautiful in their own way and the conscious perception of oneself is the result of an intense training of image and communication,” she says.
Pagnelli says the way we look is important to us all because it represents the evolution of a culture. However, image should not become an obsession. Ancient Greeks gave a lot of importance to their image and you can find books featuring pictures of women boasting aesthetics and posture. These books were very often the source of my inspiration.”
Having also cooperated with major beauty and cosmetic brands worldwide, Pagnelli is the designer behind the Silhouette eyewear range, which was launched in Malta earlier this year. She explains that this is her favourite collection because it represents her first big step into the eyewear industry.
In her heyday style days, she designed about 50 rimless frame shapes according to individual features. A few months ago, Pagnelli lived through a breakthrough experience – designing an entire collection with an Italian eyewear stylist famous in Russia, where she often works.
“To be honest, I don’t consider myself to be a designer, but I’ve learnt to do this job over the years and love to support eyewear stylists designing glasses according to aesthetic rules, because sometimes creativity does not coordinate well with commercial rules. When you are designing spectacles, you need to take into consideration those who would be interested in wearing them. The same concept applies to clothes and all other accessories,” Pagnelli explains.
Although she has never designed anything else apart from glasses, Pagnelli has collaborated with top designers on prêt a porter and couture collections and organised events for a famous jewels designer.
“My mission is to promote style and sales. I feel I’m more style than fashion conscious. This means that I like to follow trends but focus mainly on harmony. Cosmetic harmony is more impressive than fashion. I like the way people look because it’s a way of analysing lifestyle and the individual.”
In her younger days, Pagnelli applied make-up for her friends. She accompanied them on shopping sprees, read a lot of fashion magazines and created her dresses with tailors.
She was so creative that at the age of 15 she was a speaker on radio. She then started her studies in economics and later found a “very boring” job as an investment consultant in a bank.
“This did not hamper my creativity, which exploded when I decided to do what I always wanted. My hobby turned into a real job.”
A lover of fuchsia, Pagnelli says her favourite colour represents womanhood. She thinks highly of the Maltese. “They are great, smiling and hearty people. Image depends a lot on weather and geographic area. The Maltese portray an easy image, looking warm and casual in daily life and great on special events.”
Angelica Pagnelli will be at O’hea Opticians, Gżira, on Friday and Saturday. To book your free eyewear consultation, call 2131 5590. The stylist will be working with a wide range of brands.