Pablo Manzoni (15 July 1939 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian make-up artist who, as Pablo of

Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, s ...

, was awarded the Coty Award in 1965 for leadership in cosmetics.

Biography

Manzoni was born Count Paolo Michaelangelo Zappi-Manzoni di Giovecca in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, son of Count Ubaldo Zappi-Manzoni di Giovecca, a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, and wife Ersilia Monti. He is technically

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Pablo Manzoni, although he stated in 1985 that he does not use his title. At the age of 17, Manzoni persuaded the Elizabeth Arden salon in Rome to employ him, despite his lack of experience. Whilst there, he worked with clients such as Sophia Loren, for whom he used his trademark eyebrow-bleaching technique to enhance her eyes. Another early Manzoni trademark was the use of false eyelashes. At 24, Manzoni relocated to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York, where from 1964 to 1979, known only as "Pablo," he was creative director for Elizabeth Arden. In 1965, his eye-makeup techniques were so influential that he was awarded the Coty Award in recognition for launching a worldwide style. As a leader in the field of fashionable, elaborate eye-makeup, Pablo was extremely popular with fashion editors and society women during the 1960s. Manzoni stated in 1966 that the jewel-studded or flower-decorated eyes he created for the fashion press were intended to inspire the reader, rather than to be exactly copied. Despite this, he had clients asking him to reproduce the designs for actual wear. In 2011 Manzoni expanded on this, explaining that the "festive eyes" he created for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and '' Harper's Bazaar'' were intended for

shock value Shock value is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Shock advertising or Sh ...

and publicity purposes, but that when at work he created subtle make-up for clients. In 1979 Manzoni left Elizabeth Arden to embark upon a solo career, for which he reclaimed his surname. By 1985, as well as dealing with private clients, Manzoni was working as a make-up consultant for

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

. In 1990, he was Creative Director for the La Prairie cosmetics line. Manzoni died from complications from back surgery on 2 February 2022, at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzoni, Pablo 1939 births 2022 deaths Artists from Rome Italian make-up artists