Monica Bellucci for Prestige Hong Kong October 2013

Photographed by Philippe McClelland

Monica wears Dolce & Gabbana

On her personal beauty/makeup routine: "I clean my face, like all women, before going to bed. I use a good moisturiser, very light, and try to drink a lot of water because I think it’s good to have good hydration from the inside. I also like products from Dr Hauschka because they’re very natural. I love make-up and I think that I would use make-up even if I wasn’t working in the image industry because I like to have some make-up on during the day when I have to go out for my own things. To have on some mascara and lipstick, I like that. My relationship with femininity has a long history because in my family – my mother, aunts and two grandmothers – women are very feminine and they take care of themselves."

On how she began collaborating with Dolce & Gabbana: "It’s the second year that we’ve done this together, but we’ve been friends for more than 20 years. I was a young model; they were young stylists whose careers became so huge. I did my first fashion show with them when I was a model. Even though I moved from one career to another, I’ve dressed so many times in Dolce & Gabbana for my red carpets. And it’s beautiful that after all these years we keep doing things together. When they called me again for this collaboration, I was very happy because it’s not just a story of working together, but also one of friendship and affection. I think that we keep working together today because we are inspired by the same things – even movies and actresses – which come from our culture: the films of Fellini, Rossellini, Visconti and De Sica, leading ladies like Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Silvana Mangano and Monica Vitti, and this kind of femininity that’s very Italian."

On constantly being named one of the most beautiful women in the world: "I think the most important thing is knowing the difference between who you are and the image that goes around, because I do films, covers of magazines and publicity like Dolce & Gabbana, then the image goes away and becomes one thing, then it’s a part of you, which doesn’t mean all of you. Of course, when I receive a compliment, I like it. But I don’t believe in the image. It’s important to have a distance between you and the image. You’re not the image. You’re a real woman."

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