Photo: EPS/REX USA.All instances of the phrase "fashion drama" pale in comparison to recent news that the woman who ordered Maurizio Gucci's murder is seeking employment...at Gucci.
Italy's La Repubblica spoke to Patrizia Reggiani, nicknamed "the Black Widow" in 1998 when she was found guilty of hiring a gunman to kill Maurizio, her ex-husband and the former head of the Gucci fashion house. Reggiani was allegedly worried about how Gucci's potential remarrying would affect her daughters' inheritance. Sentenced to 29 years in jail by a Milan court, Reggiani's time decreased to 26 years following an appeal. She currently has a post at a jewelry store via work-release, and finds herself on the brink of full freedom, thanks to good behavior.
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The Telegraph, which got hold of La Repubblica's piece, writes that Reggiani hopes to resume life through work. "I dream of returning to Gucci. I still feel like a Gucci — in fact, the most Gucci of all," she remarks. On one hand, Patrizia points out, "I have the qualifications — for years I went shopping around the world. I came from the world of jewels and it is to that world that I want to return." On the other hand, prior to signing up for day-release, she stated that she had "never worked in her life" and did not intend to start. (Reggiani's additional pearls of wisdom include, "I'd rather cry in a Rolls than be happy on a bicycle.")
It seems doubtful that Kering chief François-Henri Pinault will take the bait; however, the Milanese haven't shunned Reggiani. "In recent weeks she has been photographed shopping in the city's upmarket boulevards with a blue and yellow macaw on her shoulder," notes The Telegraph. Patrizia says, "When I walk around, people stop me in the street and offer me a coffee."
You know what this reads like? A cautionary tale for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (and their accountant, Luciano Patellito), who were recently sentenced to 18 months in jail for tax evasion. Either that, or a discarded Days of Our Vita script.