English Texts

Madonna: A Love Letter to Lisbon

“Let me make this very clear, what I’m doing for Vogue Italia – the visuals and the imagery – is about my life in Lisbon and the year I just spent living there. So it doesn’t make much sense to talk about anything else does it?”

These photographs of Madonna by Mert & Marcus were taken exclusively for this magazine. The original idea of Vogue Italia was to celebrate the most successful female musician of all time (she also turns 60 this month). But then we discovered that instead of dwelling on the past, she wanted to focus on the present – it is, after all, the only way to live. And this present sees Madonna living in Portugal with four of her six children: David Banda, 12; Mercy James, 12; and the twins Stella and Estere, 5. The move was inspired by David’s passion for football, which has in turn inspired a new body of music drawing on the sights and sounds of Lisbon and its people that will be released later this year. Here we check in with the queen of pop to hear about her new life as a Lisbon-based soccer mom, the rhythms that rule Portugal and the ground-breaking treatments that have taken place at the pediatric hospital her charity Raising Malawi founded in the Southern African country last year.

Xerxes Cook: Let’s talk about Lisbon then. I was just there after a long break – actually the last time I was in Lisbon I saw you perform at the MTV Music Awards in 2005…

Madonna: …That was ages ago.

XC: It was. And a lot has changed since then, it’s become a major tourist destination for one, and an emerging art capital, with creatives from all over Europe attracted by its quality of life. I think I may have fallen in love with the city too.

M: Are you English?

XC: Half-English.

M: And you’re named after a Greek god?

XC: A Persian king, but the Greeks won so in the West we use the Greek version of the name.

M: So what’s your name in Persian? XC: Khashayar. You won’t find anyone in Iran named Xerxes. One of your kids has a Persian name. M: Really?

XC: Yes, Estere, which means “concealed” in Hebrew. M: Oh yes, that’s right – Queen Esther. It’s a beautiful name. That’s my name too, my Hebrew name, but she was born with that name.

XC: So, what prompted your move away from New York?

M: Soccer. My son David, who is going to be 13 on September 24th, has wanted to play soccer professionally for years. I’ve been desperate to get him into the best academies with the best coaches, but the level of football in America is much lower than the rest of the world. I saw his frustration, and I also felt it was a good time. I felt like we needed a change, and I wanted to get out of America for a minute – as you know, this is not America’s finest hour – not that leaving America makes anything different or changes anything. I’ve lived in other places; I lived in London for 10 years. I like to put myself in uncomfortable situations and take risks. XC: How did you settle on Lisbon?

M: It was actually between three different cities that had soccer academies. And I thought, let me see if I could live somewhere else for a year and put my four youngest kids in a different environment, as I think it’s also important to expose them to different cultures and live in different places. It was between Turin, Barcelona and Benfica in Lisbon. I went to all those places and tried to imagine myself living there. Of course, Barcelona is a super fun city, and I like Turin as well, but Turin is not really a city for children. It’s a city for intellectuals; they have incredible museums and beautiful homes, but I didn’t think it would be fun for them. I have to take everyone into account, not just whether it will be a good academy for David. So I went to Lisbon, and it seemed the best all-around choice. The first thing I did when I got there was to go to Sintra, which is a magical forest - there’s a lot of mystical energy there. XC: What has Lisbon got going for it?

M: I believe Portugal is the oldest country in Europe. It’s steeped in history, and the Portuguese empire has made its dent on the world. The architecture is amazing. It’s also the birthplace of slavery, and so there are musical influences which come from Angola and Cape Verde, and also from Spain. And then on top of all of that, one of my favorite things to do in the whole world is to ride horses.

XC: Do you live in the city or the surrounding countryside?

M: I live in Lisbon, in Lapa, but when I go horse riding I go to Comporta, I go to friend’s houses, I go to Alcácer. There are lots of different areas outside of Lisbon to ride. Whenever my son doesn’t have a soccer match on Sunday, then that becomes an adventure day, and we would pick a place to go riding.

XC: You mentioned that you like to challenge yourself. In 1979, you left Michigan for New York with just $35 in your pocket. So this time around, what kind of challenges have you faced as a single mother moving to a foreign city with four kids?

M: It’s a different kind of challenge. When I moved to New York it was just about me, and taking care of the child in me. I’m still in survival mode, but now I have four younger children to think of, their education, looking after them and making sure they’re happy. Lisbon is an ancient city and no one is in a hurry to do things. You can have all the romantic notions you want, but once you are in a house and your staff doesn’t show up and the pipe starts leaking and you don’t speak the language, all of a sudden you’re like, fuck what have I done? [Laughs].

XC: People have a healthier work-life balance in Lisbon compared to New York or London.

M: Any woman who is a soccer mom could say it kind of requires you to have no life in a way, because things change from week to week and games change from weekend to weekend – sometimes they’re in the city, sometimes they’re not, and we would never know until Thursday night whether they’re on Saturday or Sunday, if at twelve o’clock or later. It’s impossible to make plans, and then you feel like you’re not being fair to your other kids, or being fair to me! There’s quite a laid-back energy in Lisbon, but also quite an aura of melancholy, which is how fado was born there. There’s a romantic side to that – and certainly a creative and artistic side to that – and it gives birth to a lot of beautiful music, and also art. Paula Rego is one of my favorite painters in the world – there’s a lot of heartbreak and pain in her paintings. It’s a paradox, and I lived that paradox every day. Some days I wanted things to be just practical; I wanted things to go my way, for it to be easy, for people to show up on time – I had lots of frustrations, but it was always balanced by being able to enjoy the creativity. XC: How has Lisbon inspired you as a musician? M: I always say three f’s rule Portugal: fado, football and Fatima. It’s also a very Catholic country, which suits me just fine. It reminds me of Cuba in the way that people don’t have a lot, but you can open the door to anyone’s house, go on the street corner, and you’re always going to hear music. In Alfama, you’ll hear people singing and playing fado music everywhere. There are these weekly sessions called living room sessions which pop up in people’s beautiful homes that are 500 years old, and you walk up the marble steps which are lined with candles into the living room which is also dimly lit with candles, and there’s this rolling, very intimate performance happening where people play, they sing, they recite poetry. It’s like a salon; something which doesn’t really exist in many places anymore – people elsewhere say, “Call my manager, this is how much I charge.” I’m pretty sure in Lisbon people would do these shows and not get paid, they just do them for the love of what they do, and for me, this is glorious and inspiring. I try to introduce this to my visiting friends, as on any given night you’ll get a phone call saying these musicians are performing at this house, come by at 11 – everything happens late in Lisbon. Sometimes there would be food, other times there would just be port to drink. Usually, all the doors would be open and depending on where you are, you can look across the River Tagus to the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes there would be gypsies flamenco dancing, and a lot of times there would be people playing the music of Cesária Évora [ editor’s note, a famous Cape Verdean singer], and who knew her. You’ll always hear lots of fado and lots of kuduro music from Angola. A lot of jazz also – old school jazz, which is pretty cool. I’ve just met lots of really amazing musicians, and I’ve ended up working with a lot of these musicians on my new record, so Lisbon has influenced my music and my work. How could it not? I don’t see how I could have

gone through that year without being informed by all this input of culture.

XC: That sounds like a hugely rich palette for you to paint with.

M: Yeah, huge! It’s also such a nice antidote to what’s going on in the music business now where everything’s so formulaic, and every song has 20 guest artists on it, and everyone sounds the same. Something’s gotta give.

XC: Was life in New York quite claustrophobic in comparison to Lisbon?

M: Pretty much people leave me alone in Lisbon. Every once in a while someone would ask a photo or an autograph, but I got around a lot and was left alone. New York is a giant city. When you go to New York you feel like you’ve plugged into the center of the universe, however artificial it may seem.

XC: Like you’re mainlining that energy.

M: New York is like smoking crack. But it’s also alive, it’s the city where I grew and cut my teeth – but that was a different time also; there was the art scene, the music scene. Everything then was so different in the age before iPhones.

XC: How have the kids adapted to the move?

M: All of my children are unique in their own ways. What’s amazing is how resilient they are and how they embraced all things, especially music, dance, soccer and sports – things that connect them to other people makes adaptation easier. That applies to all humans; you have to find a common ground to connect to other people, and I think people get depressed when they don’t have that. They learned to speak Portuguese through doing all those things with people, not by sitting in a classroom and learning in a didactic way, like writing on a chalkboard. Instead, it’s fun, it’s interactive. Especially with Stella and Estere, who were in an orphanage for four years; they’re so happy to join in, to help out, to be part of something whether it’s a small or a large group, to be the leaders. They’re extremely resilient and full of life and joy.

XC: That’s beautiful.

M: Yeah, it’s beautiful. They weren’t in America that long. They came from Africa to New York in a horrible snowstorm where our plane was rerouted to Pennsylvania and we had to drive six hours to go to New York, so to them it was like they had landed in a magical world. Everything was magical to them. They’re very open, and because of my work and traveling around the world, the things that I do and the places I find myself in, my children are very open-minded about everything, and I’m very proud of that. A lot of people say to me, ‘You must really want your son to be a successful soccer player, your oldest daughter [ editor’s note, Lourdes] to be a dancer, Rocco to be a painter.’ And I always say no, what I want my children to be is loving, compassionate, responsible human beings. That’s all I want. I don’t care what the vehicle is, I just want them to be good human beings that treat other human beings with dignity and respect, regardless of skin color, religion, gender. This is the most important thing, you know what I mean? If they happen to be the next Picasso or Cristiano Ronaldo, then great, that’s just the cherry on the cake.

XC: I understand you are going over to Malawi soon for the first anniversary of the Mercy James Pediatric Hospital that you set up through your charity Raising Malawi, and is the first children’s hospital in the country. I know Raising Malawi’s focus is on health, education and community support, and I was wondering if you could elaborate on the kind of context you are working within there?

M: Obviously I was brought there because of the overwhelming number of children who have been orphaned by AIDS. My original reason for being there was to do whatever I could to help these children, whether it’s education, medicine, rebuilding orphanages, bringing in healthcare workers and volunteers or building schools, because I felt it was my duty to be of service as I was living a privileged life in a privileged position. That’s how I met my son David, and the rest is history. I did jump in in a very naïve, idealistic way, and I learnt lots of lessons and I got burnt in many ways too. But after being there for 13 years, I’ve figured out how things work and what the best way to make self-sustainable help last and be as efficient as possible. As Malawi does not have a lot of natural resources it doesn’t get people’s attention, and so it’s one of the poorest countries in the world – it’s been seriously neglected. The idea is not to bring people in from the outside but to educate and train Malawians who want to be doctors, who want to be surgeons, to want to be nurses – then the country truly becomes self-sustainable, and the people have pride in themselves. This is what they need. Education and healthcare are my main areas of effort, concern, and where I put all my energy.

XC: What is it that gives you hope for the situation there?

M: The pride the people have; all of these young adults that are becoming doctors, surgeons, clinical officers, healthcare workers, nurses working in the hospital. Surgeries being done at the hospital that have never been done in the world. There was a very successful surgery that occurred last week in the intensive care unit with Siamese twins that were born joined at the liver. The potential for them to survive the operation – for them living – was pretty low. So not only did they have a successful operation, the children are surviving and doing well. You can’t imagine the pride that comes from that; for the locals, the community, to be able to say, “We did something nobody else could do. We saved lives and changed people’s lives.” It gives people a lot of hope.

XC: Incredible. One last question: when and where – or with whom – are you your best self?

M: Either when I’m creating, making music, or just writing and finding a way to express myself. When I’m connected to nature, riding my horse on the beach, feeling at one with my horse, feeling the salt of the ocean splashing my face, getting drenched with it. And when I’m playing with my children and hearing their laughter; the joy that brings me is my happy place. • original text page 126

To Madonna With Love

Jonas Åkerlund

“I’ve known Madonna for 20 years now, and it has been a long continuous journey of learning and understanding. Hard work, good taste, a strong sense of humour, 100% integrity and not giving a fuck about what people think have become my signature, thanks to her. She is my art mother and I would take a bullet for her any day.”

Mert Alas

“Madonna is an amazing thinker! An analyser. Her point of view on life reminds me of a philosopher. She is intrigued by art, politics and love. Madonna is the kind of woman who, when everyone is running for shelter during a downpour, comes out in the rain to get wet! What could be more unique than this?

She is an unstoppable artist in every way without fear, doing what excites her. Somehow she enjoys pushing buttons, making us think, making us smile, making us criticise. This fearless, incredible mother never stops amazing me!”

Giovanni Bianco

“The purest form of love is the unconditional love of a mother. Thank you, Madonna, for always insisting that all of us have the capacity to become better human beings. M, you are an enlightened soul and a gifted mother.

Minha eterna Gostosa, Te amo.”

Sofia Boutella

“When I first started working with Madonna, I was a tomboy. One day, she asked if I had ever danced in heels, which I had not. She handed me hers and said, “There is a beginning for everything.” For the first time, someone didn’t confine me to the state of my appearance or style of dance – she took a chance on me and believed in me. She does that with everyone and everything. She cares and loves deeply, takes chances in areas that are truly unique and unusual, and is genuinely curious about the world, arts, and culture. She has a deep and profound desire to translate these feelings to the world in the most artistic ways: I always learn something when I am with her – everyone does. Just being around her is deeply inspiring. It’s magical.”

Dean & Dan Caten

“Madonna is unique, period. We had the honour of working with Madonna on her music video for ‘Don’t Tell Me’, and subsequently on her ‘Drowned World Tour 2001’. Both were exceptional experiences, as well as a springboard and source of inspiration for our first womenswear collection in the F/W 2003-04 season. Madonna’s uniqueness as an artist and woman lies in her inexhaustible strength and energy, and in the fact that she’s timeless. There’s no particular anecdote that can express her essence and distinctiveness, but we believe it’s a question of her attitude in general. Her inimitable, hypnotic and overwhelming personality is defined by

the path she has followed, her music, her performances, her life, and just the way she is. For us, Madonna has represented the drive and crucial inspiration for our creative work with women’s collections, and at the same time she has always been an undisputed pop icon who has accompanied us since we were young.”

Jimmy Fallon

“Madonna has what many major pop stars work their entire career to have – mystique. I’ve interviewed her many times, she has performed on my show many times, and she still keeps me guessing.

The last time I ran into her was at this year’s Met Gala. She blessed me and then asked, ‘Do you have any sins to confess?’ Before I could think of a funny answer, she had walked away. The next time I saw her was a couple of hours later on the steps of the Met, crushing a version of ‘Like a Prayer’ with 20 monks as her backup singers.”

Jean-Paul Gaultier

“There’s nobody like Madonna – no one works as hard as she does. Even before I met her I was always a fan of hers, and I still am. I’ll never forget her performance of ‘Like a Virgin’ at the MTV Music Awards in the early ’80s. It really struck me, and it’s still impressed in my mind today.

We worked together recently and she hasn’t changed one bit. She still works harder than anyone and she doesn’t stop until everything is perfect. And, most of all, anything that is done today, Madonna did it first!”

Jon Kortajarena

“Everything with Madonna is unpredictable and exciting. I went to see her concert in Barcelona and suddenly, there I was on stage in front of ten thousand people who watched her slap me on the butt. But what I like most is to see her with her family, as a mother. She is in charge and is the boss, but she adores her kids so much that you see her vulnerable and sensitive side. Madonna is an intelligent and intuitive woman, full of magic. I consider her to be an important guide in my life.”

Debi Mazar

“Thirty years ago a girl dragged me out of an elevator at a nightclub called Danceteria (W 37th St.) to dance with her. We have been friends ever since that moment. Madonna has a mischievous smile, a wicked sense of humour, and a curiosity that makes her who she is. She has always been maternal, which is the quality I love most about her. When I was sick, back in the day with bronchitis, she’d rub my back through my coughing spasms until I was able to fall asleep. I am proud of what an amazing mamma she is today.

When we were younger, in the 80s, we had no money and we used to run through the streets of NYC, making noise, dating boys, finding ourselves, and creating our careers. Perhaps the most important thing we’ve done together has been to be a part of and stand up for the LGBTQ+ community during the AIDS crisis and still today. We have been through death, birth, boyfriends, careers, husbands, and gossip. We have saved each other in one way or another over the years. Once, from the corner of my eye, I saw her hair catch on fire at an event in an L.A. restaurant. I quickly dumped a pitcher of water over her head before she even realized what was happening. It was scary, but I had a good laugh when I saw the look of shock on her face, wondering why I did that! We sometimes fight: we are both Leo’s and dramatic. However, when we are angry at each other, we always manage to make up and have each other’s backs. We are both vibrant, exhausting people full of life who never stop working and dreaming.

Madonna is my most narcissistic friend, I say this in a loving way. She gets away with it because ...well… she IS Madonna, she’s brilliant, I love her, and because we are sisters until the end!”

Stella McCartney

“Madonna knows what she wants. The brief is always clear, so that is always a good start. She takes risks. She is fit as hell. She is foxy. She knows her body.”

Alessandro Michele

“I grew up with Madonna. For her, I gave up all my devotion to the post-punk movement, to Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees. I think Madonna has been able to bring together even the biggest snobs in terms of music.

When Madonna and Arianne asked me to design the costumes for a scene of the concert, I was overjoyed and it was a magical moment.

Three things struck me the first time we met. I was literally captured by the incredibly magnetic look in her eyes. I thought those eyes could have seduced anyone. She has the beautiful eyes of a teenager. When I saw her, I felt like I was before a young girl. She has the eyes, movements, and that indefinable something of a 20-year-old. Then I was struck by her intensity. Madonna is one of the most seductive people I’ve ever met. Her seductiveness stems from her aura, which has something magical that you notice immediately, even if she’s sitting and doing nothing. The first time we met was like a karmic experience – beautiful but demanding – because Madonna has a tremendous physical presence. Lastly, there’s her energy. Nobody has her energy on stage during rehearsals for a show. She rehearsed the whole show for me without stopping. In the end I was tired, but she wasn’t. Madonna could only have become what she is today. She’s the mother and high priestess of all female pop stars of our age. She’s the pinnacle, the end point, a kind of Mozart.”

Marilyn Minter

“She has the nicest, most polite and talented kids. I’m amazed at how unspoiled they are. I chalk that up to Madonna!”

Kate Moss

“Madonna always stays true to herself, no matter what.”

Luigi Murenu

“She never forgot my birthday in the twenty-five years we have known each other. She never complains when she is sick. She knows how to be a perfect friend without pretending. She answers my messages after one minute. She hates laziness, like me. She is incredibly intuitive and the most professional artist I ever worked with that has taken and still takes risks. Her uniqueness? Did I already say that she is Madonna, the greatest queen of all?”

Lorcan O’Neill

“I’ve known Madonna for twenty-five years and here are some reflections:

– Madonna is shy. That is unexpected, but sometimes she really is like a bashful teenager when she meets new people or people she respects – musicians, artists, politicians, attractive men, strong women. The impression passes quickly, but it’s very sweet to see.

– When Madonna was once asked what was the sexiest thing a man could do, she said, “To try to understand!” She knows she is a complex woman, and I think one of the things she appreciates most is feeling that her search for her truth is acknowledged and respected by her friends and family. She is toughest on herself and she is happiest when she knows that people understand that. – Madonna doesn’t cook, but she is what Italians call a

buona forchetta – she likes food, she has an appetite, she eats pretty much everything, and she drinks red wine and cocktails. She doesn’t approve of smoking, but has always had friends who do. About the only thing I’ve never seen her do is sit in the sun. She is totally covered in black long-sleeved shirts and pants, wearing a hat and sun block, when she’s at the beach.

– My favourite Madonna look is her after-dinner-backto-work look, sitting barefoot in front of the computer, spectacles on her nose, her fingers flying over the keyboard banging out emails. Dinner is actually the moment when she relaxes and eats with her family and friends, so I don’t think it’s easy, even for her, to get the kids off to bed and to go back to the computer. But she often does go back to work – she sleeps very little anyway – and that’s when you realize that she really gets stuff done because of her focus and endless energy. – Madonna always replies. She responds to every message and email -- immediately. She is busy, but never too busy to reply. If she doesn’t reply -- which is rare -- then you know whatever it was simply didn’t interest her! – Madonna has a true feeling for art and artists. She is always looking at art, photographs, paintings and films. Her response is very intuitive, but she also wants to know all the background information. Her admiration of Frida Kahlo and her friendship with Basquiat are well known, but I’ve been with her to Tracey Emin’s studio a number of times, and to Gilbert and George’s (she asked to see where they slept.) She met Rachel Whiteread at my flat in London, and Lisa Yuskavage at the gallery in Rome. We once had a special late-night tour of the Arte Povera retrospective at the Tate (to which she brought a very young Rocco) and we went to the opening of the

Turner Prize show. She is excited by young artists and what they do. When she buys a work of art, it really is because she loves it, and she’s very reluctant to ever let a work go or to lend it.

– Madonna is fearless, both physically and emotionally. She is not afraid of pain or of feeling. She’s had broken bones, torn ligaments, sprained muscles, bruises, and hernias -- but you never heard her complain. She completely accepts those pains as part of the cost of doing what she does. She is bored when people complain about physical pain. She is also fearless of emotional pain, and she asks the awkward questions that most of us avoid. She wants to hear the truth and what is going on. “Spit it out, Lorcan!” she once told me while I dithered over what I was trying to say on her doorstep,“Spit it out!” – Madonna’s songs are real expressions of her emotions and state of mind. They are not simple pop songs. They are a literal autobiography and a record of her emotions at a particular time: the love, frustration, joy, heartache, dismay, the gathering of strength, the wonder. You can chart her love life, family life, and work life. It is all there, very frank and very vulnerable.”

Guy Oseary

“I met Madonna when I was a teen and she was already the biggest artist in the world. I remember being at a Tower Records around that time (yes, big record shops really existed back then!). This store had small TVs all around that played Madonna’s ‘Justify My Love” video. No one shopped. No one moved. Everyone just stood where they were and stared in awe. MTV banning her video at that time was a major blow back then, but she’s Madonna. When MTV wouldn’t show the video, she released it for sale and the video became a massive hit. Video singles didn’t sell much of anything back then, but this video broke new ground.

I remember my first night out with Madonna. We were out watching a show and a woman grabbed the straw out of Madonna’s drink and ran out of the theatre. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is crazy!’ I had no idea at that very moment that I would be fortunate enough to be invited to join her on an incredible journey over the next 3 decades.

Her numerous achievements as an artist have been highly publicized, like her many high grossing tours. She set record after record with her tours, album sales and chart positions. She sold over 300 million albums and has won countless awards. She’s been on the cover of literally every magazine on be planet. And the list goes on. What isn’t publicized is the Madonna behind all these awards and success: the amazing mother to her six children, the philanthropist, the mentor pushing all those around her to learn more, the activist, the freedom fighter, the hard worker who suffers for her art, and the artist who continues to push boundaries regardless of criticism or ageism or any ‘ism’.

Her achievements are taken for granted. So much of what she fought for is now a given for so many. When so many others were silent, she was a powerful voice in support of people with HIV/AIDS who needed assistance and a cure. She was continuously criticized for the overtly sexual nature of her music, videos and live performances, but today that is the norm. Many punches came her way for not being age-appropriate musically in her 40’s and 50’s, yet she never bowed down to any of it and she achieved major success through it all. She had to suffer through a lot so others don’t have to. I’ve seen this woman, my friend, cry when faced with some of these obstacles, as ignorant hatred was being thrown her way, but like a ray of light, she stood tall, shining brightly with that beautiful smile of hers, steadfast and seated on her throne. She parted the sea so others can walk safely across it. There will never be another like her.”

Arianne Phillips

“I can think of countless attributes and qualities of Madonna that stand out most as unique and very special. Very early on, watching and listening to her, I learned not to invest in what others think about you, to stay true to your vision and to trust the creative process. I also learned from her to keep moving forward, to not get stuck in the past or caught up in nostalgia. She taught me to stay hungry, to learn new things, to be daring, to push yourself, to not get comfortable, and to be forward-thinking. I also learned what it means to be a humble philanthropist, to be consistent, to do good and to give back. She taught me the importance of mentorship and the power of her platform to shed light on other artists as well as on important social or political issues. She taught me to have a rebel heart, to think BIG and to keep thinking out of the box.”

Cristiano Ronaldo

“Madonna is a genius, I am a fan of her music but I am an even bigger fan of her business savvy. I don’t think there is any other female pop artist in the world who could do what Madonna has done, reinventing her image and music and selling it to the masses of fans accumulated over the span of her career. She is a master at manipulating the media and she has been performing to sold-out crowds in every country for years. She is a true artist, an icon and she has a great heart.You cannot find those qualities in music artists today. She is the best!”

Jeremy Scott

“There are so many anecdotes I can think of over the past 16 years of knowing and working with my queen – the one and only Madonna. From the first time we met when I was designing the costumes she wore for ‘Die Another Day’ to dancing with her at the Met Gala in what would be my all-time dream come true! And there are so many beautiful private moments away from the red carpets, the parties and the public that I’d never betray her openness and friendship by sharing. What I can share with you is this: her ambition to always do better and to always push it further always ignites in me the drive to go beyond what I imagine and to leave my comfort zone, entering a new place that is at first unfamiliar but instantly rewarding. There is no one I love to dress more than her – Madonna – forever my lucky star.”

Riccardo Tisci

“I have had the incredible fortune to have shared so many special moments with Madonna, all of which I will carry in my heart forever. I don’t think there is enough space in the magazine for me to say as many words as I would like! I suppose a defining moment for me, both personally and professionally, has to be when we collaborated on her costumes for her ‘Sticky & Sweet Tour’. It was early on in my career, and never in my wildest dreams growing up listening to her music would I have imagined that this could ever happen to me. She is demanding – challenging herself and her collaborators to achieve the very best. It is this -- her consistent drive and passion to entertain and create amazing work, from her music to her shows and to her wardrobe -- that makes her unique. She is also a very dear friend to me, protective and there whenever I need her. A true friend. She really is an icon and one of a kind. May she continue to reign for another 60 years – long live the queen!”

Silvia Venturini Fendi

“One of my first memories of Madonna is linked to the Baguette. It was an unprecedented success, and I had the confirmation when they called me to say that Madonna had entered one of our boutiques to buy one. It was such a surprise, and it was only then that I realised the bag had become a social phenomenon, what we’d now call an “it-bag”. She was the first to ordain its success, and I like the fact that she came to our boutique as an ordinary woman to buy one!”

Donatella Versace

“When you speak about Madonna, it’s difficult not to be repetitive, especially because we’ve been friends for so many years, and people have said everything and the opposite of everything about her. She has marked three decades with her talent. She has challenged conventions, overcome rules and taboos, revolutionised the music world, influenced the world of fashion and society, and she has shown everyone what it means to be a complete artist. She’s a feminist who has never shied away from fighting and committing herself politically. She’s a manager and a mother. She’s a woman who isn’t afraid of her femininity, and she has turned it into a weapon. She has fallen down, but she has always gotten back up, stronger than before. You can love her or not, and you might judge her, but you can’t deny that Madonna is a part of modern history and culture like no other artist. That’s why I love her.”

Alexander Wang

“Bitch, she’s Madonna!”

Fabio Zambernardi

“After many years, when Madonna calls, it’s impossible to say no; it’s as though I were bewitched by the Moon! It is her uniqueness, her magic…” • original text page 130