Our
dear friend Sônia Bogner died earlier this month at 66 years old. If you’ve never
heard of her, please continue reading because her story is pretty incredible.
Brazilian
by birth, Sônia was a Valentino model when she was discovered by Maria Bogner,
matriarch of the Bogner brand. Maria’s son Willy, heir to the brand, fell in
love at first sight and they were married shortly thereafter. Sônia moved to
Germany where she quickly added flawless German to her already-fluent English,
Italian, French and Portuguese.
After
spending the first few years of her marriage learning the family business,
Sônia's mother-in-law ceded creative control of the sportswear line in 1979 and
handed the reins to her. Sônia quickly moved it towards “Sprezzatura” —
Italian for “a touch of class” or “understated luxury.” She once said that she
would scout airports, city streets, restaurants, cafés and bars “to get a sense
for what women actually need.”
Under
Sônia's watchful eye, the Bogner sportswear brand moved from pro to posh,
creating pieces and sets for customers like ours: stylish, active urban women.
We’ll
miss her laugh the most
It
was hearty and infectious. You’d hear it before you saw her, and when she
finally appeared, you could see the genuineness all over her face.
What
made her laugh all the more special was that it was her signature sound despite
a life wrought with the loss of two children. Despite these tragedies, she was
committed to good health and good times. Her motto was “simply keep going” and
she did. She loved jogging and dancing. She was fond of her
jeans-and-white-blouse casual look. And whether she was in St. Moritz, Bavaria,
Rio or the US, she rarely went anywhere without cowboy boots or her Louboutins.
We
looked forward to seeing Sônia every time we went on a European buying trip.
But her spirit lives on in the Bogner brand, and most definitely in our store.
