Alberta Tiburzi

Alberta Tiburzi in Balenciaga. Harper’s Bazaar, 1967. Photo: Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi). Image via modeSPIRIT.

Born in Rome, Alberta Tiburzi began her modelling career in Italy in the 1960s. She later moved to New York after signing a contract with American Vogue. In the 1970s Tiburzi became a professional fashion photographer, known as signora della luce for her work with light. (Read a bio here, from the 2005 exhibition Italian Eyes: Italian Fashion Photographs from 1951 to Today.)

In the mid-1960s Tiburzi did some modelling for Vogue Patterns in Rome, for Couturier patterns by Italian designers. My mother made this Galitzine ensemble in fuchsia bouclé:

Vogue 1564 by Galitzine (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

In this design by Federico Forquet, the shaped hem of the cutaway jacket matches the waistline seam on the dress:

Vogue 1575 by Federico Forquet (1966) Image via Etsy.

Tiburzi brings out the drama of this double-breasted tent coat by Fabiani:

Vogue 1577 by Fabiani (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Tiburzi was also photographed in the dress from the same pattern:

Vogue 1577 by Fabiani (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Here she models a red Simonetta dress with tucks radiating from the collar:

Vogue 1587 by Simonetta (1966) Image via Etsy.

Once in New York, Tiburzi did some work for McCall’s. Here she models a purple dress with heavily embellished collar by Pauline Trigère:

McCall’s 1048 by Pauline Trigère (1968)

You can see a Hiro editorial featuring Tiburzi at Couture Allure, or click the models tag to see more posts in my models series.