The photo that portrays them together, shared yesterday by the voice of I am not a lady on social networks to remember the great Tina Turner, who died on Wednesday in Zurich at the age of 83 after a long illness, was brought to Milan almost forty years ago. It was September 1984. Loredana Berte and Tina Turner had met a few days earlier in Riva del Garda. It was enough for the two lionesses to sniff for a few seconds to recognize each other equally, and not only by their voice, characterized by that scratch that had made Tina Turner the “queen of rock’n’roll” and Loredana Bertè. Sort of the Italian equivalent of it. Although one, Tina, was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, on the other side of the Atlantic, eleven years before the other, Loredana, who was born instead in Bagnara Calabra, an ancient seaside town that borders the Tyrrhenian Sea. “I will never forget that meeting and the days I spent in Milan with Azzedine”, says Loredana Bertè.
Forgive me, but who is Azzedine?
«Azzedine Alaïa, of course. One of the most famous and influential designers in fashion history (died 2017, ed).”
And what does that have to do with her and Tina Turner?
«If Tina and I started talking, in the elevator of the Riva del Garda hotel, it was thanks to a jacket designed by Alaïa that she was wearing. Nobody knew him. Except for me and Cesare Zucca, who was my stylist at the time, before I went to Los Angeles to work for Madonna.”
Let’s take a step back. What were you two doing in Riva del Garda, in that September of 1984?
«We were both invited to a festival that was one of the fixed dates for live music in the summer, the Vela d’oro. It took place in September, at the end of the season, to reward the successes of the year. Tina Turner was promoting her hit What’s Love Got To Do With It?. At that time, it often happened that world music stars came to Italy to promote. The Private Dancer album was already out, an instant commercial success that gave Tina what was Tina’s. The following year she would win three Grammy Awards for What’s Love Got To Do With It?. On the other hand, that year at the Vela d’oro I performed with Ragazzo mio and Una sera che raine to promote Savoir Faire, the third album in the trilogy written and produced by Ivano Fossati after Traslocando del ’82 and Jazz del ’83» .
So you were in the elevator together. And she pushed the button talking about Alaïa’s jacket. And then?
“She was with her manager at the time. When I mentioned Azzedine Alaïa, Tina’s eyes widened: “How do you know him?” she asked me. I replied, “If she knows you’ve worn one of her jackets, he’ll go crazy.” “No, I’m going crazy,” she replied. When I told her that she could put them in touch, she went wild with joy.”
Alaïa, when did you meet him?
“During a trip that he had made some time ago to Paris. We had become friends.”
How did it go with Tina?
“That night in the elevator he immediately asked the manager, ‘When will I be free from touring and promotions?’ And that: “I think in no less than two years.” Then he turned to me and Cesare: “When are you going to Milan?” We were leaving two days later. “I’m going with you,” he replied.
And he did?
“Yes. She went with us. Once in Milan, Cesare and I called Azzedine. From that moment on, Alaïa only dressed Tina Turner, discarding even Grace Jones, whom she had advised until then and who did not He took it very well (laughs) ».
How has Tina Turner been a source of inspiration for you?
“For your experience. The sand from him. His style. And then for his ability to always reinvent himself. She was a phoenix like me. A survivor. She was quintessential rock. It was no coincidence that she was nicknamed the “queen of rock’n’roll”: she had all the features of her ».
Which?
«That powerful and rough voice, of envy. And then energy and sensuality, as well as an explosive personality. She has been a great inspiration to all of us as an artist and as a woman. A talent out of the ordinary: simply The Best ».
in the messenger
