Who

The glamorous French native's clothes are worn by A-list women everywhere.

Backstory

Born in Grenoble, France, Malandrino studied design in Paris and worked for Emanuel Ungaro, Louis Feraud, and Et Vous. In 1988 she arrived in the States to become lead designer at Diane von Furstenberg, where she helped revive the famous wrap dress. Ten years later, Malandrino launched her own label, later expanding with a higher-end line called Catherine Malandrino Limited Edition. In 2006, she introduced a line of strappy sandals and ballet flats, and followed up with a range of leather handbags in 2007.

Of note

There are now Malandrino boutiques in the Meatpacking District, SoHo, Long Island and East Hampton, as well as LA and Paris. But Malandrino does not appear to have finished expanding her empire. Her vampy, feminine threads—which have been worn by Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Mary J. Blige, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, and Winona Ryder—should be available in some three dozen Malandrino boutiques by 2011. Her newest store is a 6000 square foot space in West Hollywood complete with an instore "Café Malandrino."

Personal

Catherine is married to Bernard Aidan, whom she met when he ran the operations of Et Vous in the U.S. He is now her company's CEO. They have a son named Oscar and split their time between Paris and New York.

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