Speak to Catalina Guirado-Cheadle for any length of time and you’ll soon come to realize that there is not much ground she hasn’t covered in her 20-plus year career. The only daughter of celebrated Spanish artist Juan Antonio Guirado, Catalina has lived in the glamorous world of the gypset (gypsy + jetset) since childhood and embraced it to the full with age.

A quick recount of her recent life is almost staggering. She has been a successful runway and print model, gracing major magazine covers and designer catwalks alike. She’s hosted and appeared on a string of successful television programs in the UK. She’s written songs with and for huge 80’s Brit acts ranging from Echo and the Bunnymen, Henry Priestman and The Yachts to the Christians, Guy Batson, St. Etienne and Blondie (and scored a chart-topping hit or two in the process, thank you very much). She’s even been signed to recording deal of her own with none other than Universal Music. Along the way, she has dazzled on countless red carpets, bewitched paparazzi and dated some of the most notable film and music stars of the last two decades before settling down into wedded bliss with her rocker husband, Matthew Cheadle former guitarist of chart topping US rock group i-94.

Today, perhaps more than ever before, Guirado-Cheadle is a doggedly determined woman focused on a career that is clearly on the ascent. Following the death of her father in 2010, Catalina was made the sole director of the acclaimed artist’s estate, which she has rebranded as The Guirado Estate and on behalf of which she works feverishly in order to promote and preserve her father’s legacy. Simultaneously, to complement her work with the Estate, the ever industrious Guirado-Cheadle launched Guirado Design with collection of luxury silk scarves, fabrics and bespoke wallpapers inspired by select enlightening works of art by her father. Needless to say, Catalina Guirado-Cheadle is a very busy lady. So I was thrilled to find an excuse to sit down with my great gal pal so that I might catalogue her thoughts for you on everything from the essence of glamour to body image and the fashion industry. Here’s what she had to say:

TheDuaneWells:    When did you first recognize the importance of style?

Catalina Guirado-Cheadle:      When I was about 11. My mum was a seamstress and we used to [visit] some fabulous homes of my mum’s clients.

TDW:  Who was your first style icon?

CGC: Without realizing it at the time, I guess it was my godmother, Marilyn. She was – and still is – super glamorous and subscribed to VOGUE, copies of which were given to me every 2 months. She would buy me Gucci and Prada accessories such as a belt or handbag every Christmas.

She also had the most fabulous homes for which my mum did the furnishings and she loved decorating them herself so we used to go and help. When I was 14, she actually introduced me to the beauty editor of British VOGUE, who was her friend, and that’s how I became a model.

TDW:  Speaking of your start, since you first burst onto the scene, you’ve been a model, television personality, celebutante and now serve as executive director of your foundation. Having lived so many lives, which do you feel best suits you?

CGC: I think the reason I transitioned into [my current role] so easily is because I have done so many different things over the years that are a natural progression within their field. Model turned TV host/actress, turned singer songwriter, turned music A&R, turned music TV executive, turned art and music PR and now President of The Guirado Estate and Creative director and designer for my Guirado Legacy design collection. I am still all of the above but I’m just choosing the hats I wear at the moment for the job title and switching them when necessary. I’m just much more mature and business-like nowadays –and, dare I say it, responsible!

TDW:  What has been your most memorable photo shoot?

CGC: The one that really sticks out was my Maxim magazine cover and spread back in 2002 shot by top photographer Willy Camden. It was when magazines like Maxim and FHM were creditable and really well produced. It was a full-on production shoot at Pinewood studios (where they shoot Star Wars and 007) and I spent the day under a rain machine crawling around a water tank in lingerie. They then photo shopped me into rainy shots of the streets of London’s SoHo. It looked amazing even though I felt like a drowned rat most of the day.

TDW: What conversations have you had to have with yourself about your body over the course of your career?

CGC: Well sadly when I was a fashion model in Europe I was usually telling myself not to eat as I had to be really thin. I would make agreements with myself that If I ate a bar of chocolate I wouldn’t eat the next day. It was so unhealthy and I really blame the model agencies for creating girls that have so many eating disorders and complexes. Being told at 15 with a 23 ½ inch waist that you need to lose more weight isn’t exactly healthy and that was back in the 90s when size 4-6 was the normal model size! I had exactly the same measurements as Cindy Crawford!

Now that I’ve hit 40, I tell myself it’s okay and necessary to be a size larger as your body changes. It’s natural and a 40-year-old shouldn’t compete with a 20-year-old. Plus, I think there is nothing more unattractive than a bony older woman. Eating healthily and working out to be fit, NOT skinny is the goal, which is why I do Pilates as it’s so great for the core and body strength without creating too much muscle. I want to emulate Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch as I grow older!

TDW:  What are the essential elements of great style?

CGC: Well style isn’t something that can be bought for a start! Great accessories help of course but style comes down to interesting influences as well as a fun sense of humor, attitude and life.

I think that staying true to your own taste and personal style is so important [because] people who follow fashion seasons rigidly have no sense of their own identity in life. Mixing vintage, high street with designer labels is the most stylish look in my mind.

TDW:  What is the best piece of style advice you’ve ever received?

CGC: Accessory-wise, take off the last thing you put on! And always check your body from the back. I have a low rib cage and square hips so I have to be careful not to look bigger than I am. Also [I was told] not to wear black on the red carpet as the picture desks don’t usually pick the photos for their spreads.

TDW:  Conversely, what is the best piece of style advice you’ve ever given?

CGC: Take the last thing on, off! And, people over 40 really should not wear daisy dukes or mini mini-skirts! I don’t care how good your legs are — it’s a no!

TDW:  What are your thoughts about color? Prints?

CGC: I love wearing red dresses! It brings Instant attention at a party and on the red carpet. I’m really into color in the summer but in the winter all I seem to wear is black with a colorful scarf accessory (usually one of my own designs).

TDW:  Describe the most common style mistake women make?

CGC: Wearing all designer labels at once and not following their body type but just wearing something they think is cool [though it] should [only be worn by] a 16-year-old stick insect in reality!

TDW:  Is there a universal style weapon (secret) that works for every woman?

CGC: I was brought up in Europe and we are taught that it’s all about having great classic accessories and what’s more classic than a great haircut and blow dry? [With] clean hair, clean nails, good skin, natural make up, quality shoes and [a good] handbag, you can go out in jeans and a tank and still look good.

TDW:  What is your favorite fashion accessory?

CGC: My collection of sunglasses…mainly vintage.

TDW:  What has been your worst style moment?

CGC: The 80s. I hate everything about the horrible make up and horrendous hair. I copied looks straight out of magazines and looked like a glow worm most of the time. Luckily that’s when I discovered Camden Lock in London and my love of vintage 60s clothes started. I was slightly goth too for a while. I shot a Vidal Sassoon commercial and they dyed my hair black and cut short bangs. It was very fashion forward but not great when you are 16 and still at school. I pretended I was in the band Shakespeare Sister and dressed in Katherine Hamnet and dated a rock star all before I left school! No wonder the girls at school were so mean to me. I was so ahead of my [years]!

TDW:  What part or your body or physical attribute have you had to learn to love?

CGC: My face isn’t even and I have slightly different shaped eyes, but so does Christy Turlington so I’m okay with it. [Laughs]

I try not to look at any part of my body for too long as it doesn’t end well. Fixation is most of the problem with today’s obsession with plastic surgery.  I know I’m guilty of thinking I look fat or am sagging when in fact I look the same as before but didn’t obsess. I truly blame Los Angeles, social networking and the selfie. It’s getting scary and its not real. I leave LA and I feel fantastic about myself!

TDW:   If you could bring one fashion item or look roaring back to favor what would it be?

CGC: I’m really happy with exactly now and the revival of 60s/70s boho and disco chic. I’m in retro heaven.

To find out more about the Guirado Estate, click here. Follow the latest with Guirado design at:  www.guiradodesign.com.

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What is summer without a little culture?

To assist in planning your spring/summer NYC travel itineraries, I reached out to award-winning art historian and art consultant Natasha Schlesinger for her advice about the hot spots that showcase New York at its artsy best.

Here are Schlesinger’s tips for exploring the cultural side of the Big Apple:

1. The Surrey Hotel. http://www.thesurrey.com/

The Surrey hotel is always a fun place to hang out at either at the Bar Pleiades or the roof garden (accessible only to members and hotel guests). This year, however, the hotel branches out to become an alternative to art gallery spaces as they present their ArtSpeak exhibit with nine emerging and established contemporary artists dispersed through the lobby and the roof garden as a prelude to the annual Frieze New York arts fair which takes place from May 5 – 8 at Randall’s Island Park. For more info about Frieze New York visit http://frieze.com/fairs/frieze-new-york. And for information about the Artspeak tours at the Surrey Hotel, click here.

2. The Highline. http://www.thehighline.org/

Spanning from Gansevoort Street to 34th street along 10th avenue, The Highline offers much more than just a walk above the city. Expect temporary art installations by well-known artists such as Barbara Kruger, Nari Ward and Spencer Finch and art events, concerts and performances put on by the Friends of the Highline. It’s also a really great place to hang out either by day or by night.

3. Park Avenue Armory. http://www.armoryonpark.org/

Though not necessarily what you might first think of as a youthful hang out, Park Avenue Armory has now become one of the hot spots to visit to explore and experience art and the historic space it occupies. Coming this summer is an experiential show by the well-known contemporary artist Martin Creed.

4. Rooftop Cafe and Martini Lounge at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/

You don’t have to always just peruse the galleries at this iconic NY institution.  Why not just enjoy a drink on a Friday or Saturday evening on the rooftop of the Met from May through the end of October. And, while you’re there, take a moment to enjoy the annual installations. This year there is a spooky, surreal partial house by the artist Cornelia Parker called Transitional Object: Psychedelic Barn.

5. Matchabar. http://matchabarnyc.com/

Brooklyn: 93 Wyeth Avenue

Chelsea: 256 West 15th street

These are among the city’s trendiest spots in which to hang out. Their moto “Matcha Fam” is all about the family that matcha bar creates and promotes. There is a daily cafe, cool events at night, great work space, artist and designer shows, pop ups and more. This summer, Matchabar will also partner with ArtMuse to create a pop-up show of emerging artists who create their art in the matcha tradition of combining positive energy that produces life’s magic.

Find out more about Natasha Schlesinger and ArtMuse tours at www.artmuseny.com.

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As a bit of background for the uninitiated, Frieze New York, widely considered to be one of the most influential contemporary art fairs on the planet, returns to Randall’s Island Park to celebrate its fifth anniversary from May 5 – 8, 2016.

In perhaps its most ambitious offering yet, Frieze New York 2016 will showcase over 200 galleries from 31 countries across the fair’s four sections which will include a main gallery section and three feature sections: Frame, Focus and Spotlight. While the Frame section will be dedicated to galleries established less than eight years ago in an effort to present work by artists who have not previously benefitted from an international platform, the Focus section will highlight work conceived for the fair that has not previously been seen within an art fair context and the Spotlight section will feature solo artist presentations of work made in the 20th century, with a special focus on work made after 1960.

With so much to explore at this year’s edition of Frieze, perhaps the greatest challenge is coming up with a game plan for making the most of the fair and that’s where Schlesinger’s expertise and pointers on maximizing the Frieze 2016 experience come into play. In a quick email interview, Schlesinger, who will also be leading VIP tours of ArtSpeak, a curated collection of pop up art installations by nine emerging and well-known artists that will be fully open to the public in the lead up to Frieze from May 4 through August 31 at the Surrey Hotel, offered the following ten tips to approaching the New York edition of the ever more popular arts fair.

Natasha Schlesinger’s 10 tips for exploring Frieze:

1. Frieze is one of the bigger art fairs in New York and navigating it coherently is a challenge. So planning ahead is always advisable. I also would suggest to create a grid system of walking it and going row by row.

2. Hiring a knowledgeable art expert to guide you through is probably the most efficient and best way to get the most out of Frieze.

3. If possible, peruse the website for Frieze ahead of time to see if there are any specific artists or galleries that you must see while there.

4. Food is important at the fair and this year the selection is quite wonderful including Sant Ambroues, Roberta’s pizza, Supe Riority Burger, Marlow and Sons and Cosme. So make sure that you are well nourished either before attempting your fair route. (Book ahead for the sit down restaurants)

5. A few of my favorite galleries I would recommend include: David Zwirner, Lehmann Maupin, Fergus McCaffrey, Gallerie Perrotin, Jack Shaman Gallery, Lisson Gallery, Paul Kasmin and Gallerie Continua.

6. Definitely don’t miss the bonus features of Frieze such as Special Projects, created by renown contemporary artists like Maurizio Catalan and Eduardo Navarro and Heather Phillips. Frieze talks are also a good way to add to the scope of interesting ways to engage with the fair and Frieze Sounds give the fair a multi-sensory touch.

7. Don’t forget that you can get to the fair in several ways, one of these is on a ferry that leaves from either East 90th street or East 35th street. This is definitely the most enjoyable way to get there without being stuck in traffic or riding in a hot stuffy bus.

8. As you are already in NY to see Frieze, do take advantage of the multiple exciting art opportunities to see and do in NY as well. The New Met/Brauer has just opened and its “Unfinished” exhibit is well worth seeing. The New Whitney museum is a must on the art places to visit in New York, and the main Metropolitan Museum will have its annual fashion institute exhibition, which this year is called “Manus et Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” or the Guggenheim museum, from where the Frieze bus leaves every 30 minutes.

9. Visit Frieze during the weekdays if possible, and especially in the morning hours, as the weekends get crowded.

10. The final day of Frieze is on Mother’s Day. It makes for a fun and different way to spend the day with your mom at an art fair like Frieze, on an island in the middle of Manhattan, and perhaps even getting there by boat, and then of course treating her to a delicious lunch in the midst of all that creativity and visual stimulation.

To find out more information about Frieze New York visit frieze.com/fairs/frieze-new-york. Or for more information about the Artspeak tours at the Surrey Hotel, click here.

To read this story on the Huffington Post click here.

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“Wherever I lay my jewels, I lay my head.”

— HSH Princess Cécile zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg

It was on one of those stereotypically crisp, sunny late afternoons that are so emblematic of springtime in the City of Angels that I first met HSH Princess Cecile zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg for coffee on an outdoor patio at the heart of  West LA’s tony Brentwood Country Mart. Fresh faced with her hair pulled loosely back and dressed casually in a fitted leather jacket and jeans, my regal coffee date looked more like one of the chic Santa Monica locals buzzing around the popular shopping plaza than one might expect of the progeny of one Germany’s oldest royal families.

As the eldest daughter of Prince Kraft zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Charlotte of Croy, the granddaughter of Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, the great niece of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II, the cousin to Princes William and Harry, and also a direct descendant of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, to say that Cécile zu Hohenlohe’s royal connections are not only significant but dizzyingly fascinating, if almost impossible to follow, would be something of an understatement. And yet, though she can count her place in the royal succession to the throne of England, the most discernibly royal quality about the woman sitting across from me clutching a warm beverage and a bag of jewels on that picturesque Southern California afternoon was the beatific nature of her smile and the unconsciously effortless graciousness of her demeanor.

In fact, it is immediately obvious within minutes of conversation with Her Serene Highness (who actually in a nod to modernity eschews any of the pretense of titles beyond their association with her work) that while she readily acknowledges the unique and privileged nature of her heritage, she is far less enamored of her royal ties than others (myself included) seem to be. She is even quick to admit to not knowing her family history well enough, much to the chagrin of her mother. Which is not to say that she takes it all lightly, because, in truth, her family history is in large part the reason we had convened to chat.

After a lifelong interest in art and beauty that began at boarding school and then continued through her study of sculpture, prop making and stage design at art school in London, Cécile has created a singularly glittering exhibition of one-of-a-kind “hand sculptures” called In the Space Between that can currently be seen through Labor Day at Grey Area in East Hampton, NY. A collection of rings filled with contrasts, in which that which is old is made new, while that which is high is commingled with that which is low, In the Space Between combines precious and semi-precious stones along with other elements that have been culled from the Hohenlohe family estate and grounds, Langenburg Castle in Germany and Cécile’s extensive travels to exotic and sacred locales around the world to give birth to artistic creations that seemingly float on the hand while simultaneously providing vessels for telling stories, which is what interests their designer most.

“I like using things which may not traditionally be set together or be what we perceive of as valuable objects or materials,” Cécile explains with a certain air of delight. “It can be a pebble or piece of old concrete but you set it with an amazing stone and suddenly a completely different kind of dialogue begins to happen for both pieces. I like the contrast. I [like] allowing these pieces to come into conversation with each other.”

Conversation and stories are in fact the very foundation of Cécile’s collection beginning with the intimate discourse she entered into with nature at a very young age in the scenic Hohenlohe region of Germany. “”Growing up [at Langenburg Castle] was a very protected upbringing in the sense that it was wholesome. I had much contact with nature around home which was a big part of my refuge as child,” Cécile recalls of the centuries old childhood home where she still maintains the studio to which she returns to create with the help of local master goldsmiths and silversmiths whose connection to her family traces back more than a century. “Being in the castle had a certain rigidity … it was quite conservative and conventional… freedom and inspiration was often found in the woods where I could be free because I didn’t have to be the person I had to be in the castle. Everyone in the village knew who you were. With my name in Germany you’re somewhat branded so to speak. Freedom for me was when I was able to be without any of that on my back. I found it in nature.”

Meanwhile back at the castle, a different and perhaps equally formative conversation was taking place between Cécile and her royal forbears. “There were family events and balls that my parents, my aunt and grandmother attended,” she recalls. “As a little girl I loved when all the preparation began and the dresses came out. They would discuss the gowns they were going to wear, and what tiara and jewels would match. When I was twelve, we were in London for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. We children were able to watch from Buckingham Palace. I was too young to go to any of the balls, but it was special watching my mother getting dressed up and adorning herself with the jewels. I adored just sitting there and staring at these beautiful treasures as well as growing up with them – not just in their boxes but actually worn by my family which is rarer and rarer these days.”

Of particular note to a young Cécile was a jewelry casket she found while rummaging through the castle’s many attics, cupboards and drawers, a practice which remains one of her favorite pastimes at Langenburg. “The box was just so beautiful because it had this vibrant Yves Klein blue lining like the sky on the inside and contained three trays,” she says. “Sadly it was empty because the jewels had been sold to support Russian family members after the revolution and what wasn’t sold was burned in the devastating castle fire in 1963. So it was up to my imagination to fill the boxes because there was nothing left other than the imprints of the jewels which were like echoes of past times. That box certainly was a big part of my inspiration. It was this blue emptiness allowing new things to arise from it.”

“My grandmother, Margarita of Greece, the sister of Prince Philip, would often show me jewelry and tell me stories,” she continues. “It was about the connection of the stories attached to [the gems], which made them more special. It was about who gave the jewels to her and on what occasion. She lost most of her possessions when the castle burned down in 1963 so sometimes she only had photographs of herself with these pieces that had been lost. I think there was a sense of displacement in her life, having fled from Greece to Paris and then marrying my grandfather in Germany. A way of connecting with her was looking at these jewels together and her allowing me to play with them as well. It was a special treat to adorn myself with her jewels even though the rings and bracelets would slip off my fingers and arms. I treasure these moments I had with my grandmother.”

Today, Cécile continues the tradition of telling stories through well-traveled jewels with the collection of her creations with which she has been making her way around the world for more than a year. “There are pieces I found on beaches such as in Jordan on the Red Sea, on the Black Sea in Bulgaria, on some islands in Greece, little pebbles from the Ganges and also from a number of sacred sites I’ve been to visit… Pieces that have meaning to me,” she offers in explanation of the make-up of her collection. “I always have my eyes peeled. Just the other day I was on the beach at a house in East Hampton that had been gutted and there were some fabulous crumbled chunks of concrete in a skip outside. I never know where I’ll find something that could end up in one of my pieces. It’s a constant way for me to be in contact with my environment where ever I am. So I schlepp these bags back from wherever I go filled with stones, rocks, this that and the other,” she says with obvious amusement at herself.

Perhaps more than any other, one particular ring captures the spirit and beauty of In The Space Between, because of the journey from the past to the present it tells. “I call it the Lotus Ring. It gives new life to the engagement ring my father gave my mother. I married it with a big chunk of molten bronze found in the ashes after the castle fire,” the artist says of the piece.

“My mother gave me the engagement ring after my father passed and I never wore it. It was sitting in a box in a drawer yet it meant a lot to me and I regretted not wearing it. When I was making the other pieces, it was placed there with all the other stones and I kept wondering what to do with it. I set it with other stones and it just wasn’t happening. Then its history came to mind. It was the only piece left from the box of jewels. Everything else had been sold or charred so it found its natural place with the molten piece of bronze. Symbolically speaking, it’s very much like the Phoenix rising from the flames, which happens to be our family crest, but I prefer the analogy to the lotus rising from the mud unstained.”

Like a Lotus rising from the mud indeed. Just as might be said of the entire collection, the name of which was inspired by the quote “In the space between thoughts, non-conceptual wisdom shines forth continuously” from Tibetan sage Milarepa, In The Space Between is an eclectic array of pieces that have traveled from places both significant and inconsequential to tell unique tales and share the uncommon sagacity of a most compelling life.

See a full range Cécile zu Hohenlohe’s stories told through her art at Grey Area in East Hampton through Labor Day and then keep your eyes peeled for upcoming exhibitions around the world in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Delhi and Mumbai.

To visit Langenburg Castle or find out more about its history click here.

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