Blanka Matragi

The Czech first name Blanka and the exotic surname Matragi seem to map the two worlds between which the fashion designer Blanka Matragi moves: the Czech Republic and Lebanon, where she has lived and worked for forty years. Among books about artistic celebrities, Blanka Matragi's autobiography is unique as the first ever biography of a Czech fashion designer. For over forty years she has been designing for select members of high society in the Gulf countries, for European clientele and, more recently, for an exceptional clientele living in the Czech Republic. Thanks to the clients from the royal families, she is the only foreigner and European woman to have access to the exclusive, completely closed to the public world of the local palaces. The autobiography won the 2006 Czech Bestseller Award for selling a record 85,000 copies.