About Bianca
Photo by Slim Aarons
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The Story of Princess Bianca von Hanau
The world of Von Hanau Interiors is rooted in the extraordinary life of Princess Bianca von Hanau, muse, adventurer and beloved friend of legendary photographer Slim Aarons. Celebrated as one of his favorite subjects, Bianca’s striking features and effortless elegance appear throughout some of his most iconic images of the international jet set. Yet her own story is even more fascinating than the glamorous scenes captured on film.
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Born in Alaska to an unusually daring and unconventional Austrian aristocratic couple, Bianca spent her early life crossing continents. Her childhood unfolded in Chicago, Vienna, Iran and Lebanon, each place widening her perspective and shaping her instinctive sense of aesthetics. She later completed her formal studies in design in Rome, grounding her worldly experiences in the rigor of Italian craftsmanship and artistic tradition.
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Bianca’s journey to Marbella began through her family’s deep ties to the Hohenlohe lineage. In the mid 70s, her parents, cousins of the Hohenlohe family, joined Alfonso von Hohenlohe and close friends on a trip through the south of Spain. What they found was a small fishing village shimmering with untouched charm. Marbella felt like paradise, and their vision for its future took root.
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The Marbella Club was purchased as a simple guest house, intended to welcome friends from Germany and Austria seeking sunshine and conviviality. It became the heart of a new European Riviera and the place where Bianca first arrived in the early 1970s.
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Her husband Prince Heinrich von Hanau, together with Ferdinand von Bismarck, became one of the first pioneering developers of Marbella. Their acquisition and transformation of the Marbella Hill Club marked the beginning of a new era of luxury living on the coast. Here, Bianca’s creativity, cosmopolitan background and instinctive eye for beauty truly came alive.
For decades, Bianca von Hanau was commissioned to design exceptional homes throughout Europe and, most notably, in Marbella during its most legendary years, when royalty, artists, visionaries, musicians and the international jet set made this coastal town their glamorous playground. Her clients included world renowned personalities, from musical icons such as Prince and Rod Stewart to prominent families seeking timeless elegance infused with soul.
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Whether working on a traditional European castle or a sleek penthouse in Miami, Bianca’s work always reflected her signature blend of sophistication, wanderlust and effortless livability. In 1998 she opened her first showroom in Marbella, transforming her lifelong passion into a refined professional legacy.
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Today Bianca is recognized as one of the two pioneering interior designers of Marbella, an enduring name whose work has graced the covers of leading design magazines across Europe. Due to her high profile clientele, many of her projects remain privately held and under confidentiality agreements, a testament to the trust and discretion she is known for.
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Bianca also sets herself apart through her exclusive furniture collection, designed entirely by her and crafted in collaboration with skilled artisans in Spain and Italy. These pieces embody the Von Hanau aesthetic, modern elegance, worldly, timeless and deeply personal.
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Welcome to Von Hanau Interiors. A world born from heritage, shaped by adventure and defined by impeccable taste. Where craftsmanship meets legacy and every space tells a story.
About Sophie
Princess Sophie von Hanau grew up between Marbella, Vienna, and Miami. It was London, however, that shaped her as an adult and supported her creative and professional adventures. Sophie is a licensed psychologist, yet a true creative at heart, an artist, photographer, and designer influenced by a life lived between striking contrasts: between castles and remote villages, between the refinement of aristocratic heritage and the raw immediacy of documentary and humanitarian work. Her career has unfolded across continents and cultures, always guided by a commitment to beauty, humanity, and truth.
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As a documentary and artistic photographer, she has established herself within the international art market, exhibiting at renowned art fairs such as SCOPE Miami Beach, Parallel Vienna, and Art New York. Her work forms part of one of the world’s most recognized contemporary art collections and has taken her into some of the world’s most challenging environments, most notably South Sudan, where she collaborated with UNICEF to document the civil war and advocate for human rights through art.
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Even in the harshest realities, Sophie has always strived for her images to remain beautiful and gentle to the eye. “I believe that dignity and empathy belong at the centre of visual storytelling, and that the viewer should feel invited and intrigued by the truth before them.”
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For more than twenty years, she has spent significant time in Africa. Through documentary missions alongside missionary nuns, the Sophie von Hanau Foundation supports education and entrepreneurship in Tanzania, building schools and funding micro-businesses across the country including Soma Bags (featured on CNN). The textures, traditions, and cultural depth Sophie encountered there have deeply influenced both her artistic voice and her interior-design philosophy. “They taught me that beauty must carry a soul, that design must honour memory, and that every space should tell a story.”
Beyond art and design, Sophie believes in giving back. She continues to champion local artisans and sustainable fabrics, including a special textile collection produced in Senegal that supports and funds community development projects.Sophie’s artistic sensibility was shaped early in life. Moving fluidly between European heritage and some of the most innovative real estate environments. Her father, one of the United States’ most recognized developers, is best known for creating Fisher Island in Miami, the most exclusive ZIP code in the country. Her mother, an influential interior designer and pioneer of interior design in southern Spain, taught her the emotional intelligence of a space: how a home can soothe, inspire, and transform.
In recent years, her path has expanded naturally into interior design. She has contributed creatively to private residences and developments, finding joy in helping people shape homes that reflect identity, dreams, and belonging. “My interiors mirror the same principles that guide my photography: modern but timeless elegance, cultural depth, and a sensitivity that allows each environment to breathe with character and warmth.”
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Today, Sophie has returned to Marbella, the place that has always grounded her and felt like home. Here, she brings together her global influences, artistic background, and heritage to create interiors that feel meaningful, personal, and beautifully balanced. Because homes are not simply crafted rooms, they are emotional landscapes shaped by the lives lived within them.
Welcome to our world.
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Our Clients
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