Anita Pallenberg was many things: an actress, model, singer, and the longtime muse of the Rolling Stones. After meeting and briefly dating Brian Jones in the late 1960s, Pallenberg fell in love with Keith Richards, with whom she went on to have three children.
She was also a verified rock ‘n’ roll It Girl, known as much for her style as for the company she kept. In a new documentary, Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg, directors Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill collaborated with Pallenberg and Richard’s son, Marlon, to tell the Italian-German artist’s story, with Scarlett Johansson narrating parts of Pallenberg’s unpublished memoir. Pallenberg died in 2017 at the age of 73, and while her action-packed life was full of glamour—from touring with the Stones and inspiring some of their greatest hits, like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” to appearing in Barbarella with Jane Fonda in 1968—it was also tumultuous, as she, like the other members of the Stones, struggled with a lifetime of substance abuse.
While Catching Fire focuses on this element, it also celebrates Pallenberg’s style, which emblemized the bohemian freedom of the late ’60s and ’70s. Early in the film, Richards says that although he was always complimented for his style, he was typically just wearing whatever Pallenberg had dressed him in, including her own clothes. Fringe, scarves, leather, lace and flowing silhouettes abound in the film’s archival footage, while interviews with friends like Kate Moss and Marianne Faithfull flesh out the hazy scenes from back when.
Catching Fire: The Anita Pallenberg Story is in theaters May 3. Here’s a look back at Pallenberg’s most iconic fashion moments through the years.
Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg in London.
Jagger, Pallenberg, and Richards in 1968.
Pallenberg, Richards, and Mick Jagger with their son Marlon, 1970.
Pallenberg with her son Marlon.
Pallenberg with Brian Jones.
Jones with Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull at Heathrow Airport, 1967.
Faithfull and Pallenberg at Heathrow Airport on their way to Tangiers, 1967.
Pallenberg and Richards arriving at a showing of the Peter Watkins’s film Privilege at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival.
Michèle Breton, Pallenberg, and Jagger on the set of Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg’s psychological thriller Performance in 1968.
Pallenberg attending the premiere of Performance with Richards circa 1970. Pallenberg co-wrote the film, which she also starred in with Jagger.
Richards with Pallenberg and children at the wedding of Mick and Bianca Jagger (née De Macias) in Saint-Tropez, 1971.
Pallenberg and Faithfull at the Mudd Club in New York City, 1980.
Kate Moss and Pallenberg attend a private screening of Performance at in London, 2004.
Pallenberg at a party in London, 2004.
Pallenberg walking the runway at the Pam Hogg show during London Fashion Week spring/summer 2017.
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