If one were to ask Stanislas Klossowski de Rola to draw up a list of his most valuable skills, timing would undoubtedly claim the top spot. The son of renowned Polish French modern artist Balthus—who claimed to descend from Poland's medieval nobility, hence the title—the now 82-year-old has enjoyed a charmed but convention-defying trajectory: being discovered by Luchino Visconti and whisked off to the Cannes Film Festival with Fellini as a teen, getting busted with Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones in his 20s, and providing creative fuel for Gucci in his 70s, when he was cast in one of the brand's fragrance commercials.
Lately, Prince Stash, as he's known to his legions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, has become Marianne Faithfull is the harpsichord-playing bohemian éminence grise we didn't know we needed.
