Laura Catena

Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director of Bodega Catena Zapata, traces the history of her family winery from humble beginnings to their decision in the 1990s to target the French wine industry and establish Argentine wine as amongst the best in the world.

 

Olive Carey

Olive Carey (born Olive Fuller Golden; 1896 –1988) was an American film and television actress, and the mother of actor Harry Carey Jr.

She appeared in more than 50 films, mostly westerns, including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, often playing tough tomboy parts. In 1920, she wed actor Harry Carey, with whom she remained until his death in 1947.

Ida Carey

Ida Harriet Carey (1891 –1982) was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. She was well known for portraits of Māori men, women (including the Māori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu), and children.

Portrait of an old man in a kitchen with a cigarette and wearing a beret (1948), possibly Dr Carberry. He has a cigarette in one hand and a drinking mug in front of him.

 

Vaccinations

 

Spies #3 Hugo Bleicher

Hugo Bleicher (1899–1982) was a senior non-commissioned officer of Nazi Germany's Abwehr (Secret Service) who worked against French Resistance in German-occupied France.

Bleicher was recruited into the Abwehr during the Second World War because of his knowledge of French and Spanish; however, he never rose above the rank of Feldwebel (equivalent to Sergeant). He was ruthless in his pursuit of anyone in France who opposed German domination. He disabled the Franco-Polish "Interallié" network and captured both Polish Air Force Captain Roman Czerniawski and some of his headquarters’ staff, one of whom was Mathilde Carré, who had contacts with the Vichy 2nd Bureau. She reportedly became Bleicher's lover, betrayed everyone she knew in the network, and agreed to act as an Abwehr agent.

Bleicher with Roman Czerniawski after the War

Bardet betrayed SOE agents Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom who were arrested by Bleicher in April 1943. Sansom was subjected to brutal treatment and torture during interrogation before being transferred to a concentration camp, although none of this was carried out by Bleicher himself.

Odette Sansom, World War II's most decorated woman

Hugo Bleicher, together with two of his French Abwehr agents, was arrested in Amsterdam on 15 May 1945. In 1954, he published his memoirs, Colonel Henri's story. He was decorated by the Abwehr with the War Merit Cross 1st Class for his services.

After the war, he ran a tobacco shop.

Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins has featured multiple times on The Beret Project and remains a great role model!

Venezuelan Face Paint and Berets

I can't say I am really charmed by these berets and their wearers, but they sure make a remarkable sight!

Why on earth the Venezuelan Armed Forces use these colours facepaint as 'camouflage', let alone bright red berets for their elite units, is a mystery to me... 

Spies #2

A Call to Spy is a 2019 American spy drama. In the beginning of WWII, with Britain becoming desperate, Churchill orders his new spy agency—the Special Operations Executive (SOE)—to recruit and train women as spies. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance.

Sudan's (ex?)-spy chief General Abu Bakr Hassan Damblab.

In From the Cold is an American spy thriller streaming television series. The series follows a divorced mother and ex-Russian spy, living secretly in the United States, as she is forced back into her old life after the CIA learns about her real identity. It was released as a Netflix original in 2022.

Best of all: Jitendra Singh from Rajasthan, who donned an Indian Army uniform to impress women on social media and found himself in real-world intrigue when his fake online persona saw him recruited by a foreign spy agency which sent him on espionage missions. Singh was arrested in a joint raid by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) and Military Intelligence (MI). According to Military Intelligence sources, it all began in 2016 when 24-year-old Jitendra, a clothier from Barmer and desperate for women’s attention, procured army uniform from a second-hand veterans’ store in Rajasthan and began impersonating an officer on social media.

Spies #1

As with so many professionals, berets are a spy's favourite headgear!

Odette Sansom GC, MBE (1912 –1995), also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during the Second World War. She was the first woman to be awarded the George Cross by the United Kingdom and was awarded the Légion d'honneur by France.

Mikhail Ivanov, a Soviet spy based in the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, was directly sent to investigate the sites straight after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, before the US could even get investigators there.

Spies of Warsaw is a British television miniseries in which a Deuxième Bureau intelligence agent poses as a military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw and finds himself drawn into the outbreak of World War II. The series takes its name from the 2008 spy novel by Alan Furst.

Rwandan spy chief Karake who was arrested on 20 June 2015 in London, on an arrest warrant from Spain. Karake had been indicted in 2008 together with 39 other high-ranking Rwandan officials for grave crimes alleged to have been committed between 1990 and 2002, including the crime of genocide. Karenzi has been freed by the UK, considering that "the relevant laws on the conduct alleged in this case do not cover the acts of non-UK nationals or residents abroad."

Àngel Planells

Angel Planells i Cruanyes (1901 –1989) was a Catalan surrealist painter.

He was born in Cadaqués, where he met artists like Eliseu Meifrèn, Joan Roig i Soler and Salvador Dalí. In 1918 he went to Barcelona to study painting, lithography and engraving, but he returned home due to economic problems. In 1928 he published his first surrealist poems and some art criticism articles.

Between 1928 and 1929, Planells participated in his first collective exhibitions in the Dalmau Galleries in Barcelona (1929) and in Girona. In Cadaqués he met René Magritte and other surrealist artists. Planells’s first individual exhibition took place in 1930, in the Dalmau Galleries.

In 1936, Planells formed a part of the Logicofobista group. The first Logicofobista Exhibition took place in Barcelona, in 1936. Same year, three works of Planells were shown at the London International Surrealist Exhibition.

Since 1929 Planells lived in Blanes, where he worked as a professor at the School of Arts.

After the Spanish Civil War, Planells painted landscapes and still lifes, and in 1974 he returned to surrealism.

Playboy

Playboy is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.

Known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude models (Playmates), Playboy played an important role in the sexual revolution and remains one of the world's best-known brands with a presence in nearly every medium – they even have their own berets!

In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide.

Playboy's enduring mascot, a silhouette of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo bow tie, was created by Art Paul for the second issue as an endnote, but was adopted as the official logo and has appeared ever since. Hefner said he chose the rabbit for its "humorous sexual connotation".

Alisa Nekrasova

Russian model Alisa Nekrasova at Elite Barcelona photographed by Alejandro Brito & styled by Beñat Yanci for Beauty Rebel.

Capitol Rioter in Pink beret

A woman who is suspected of participating in the January 6, 2021 Capitol siege has been identified after her ex-boyfriend spotted her wearing a pink beret in a photo posted by the FBI on Twitter.

Law enforcement were finally able to identify Jennifer Inzuza Vargas of Los Angeles after a man who used to date the a woman recognized her as being his ex-girlfriend who he had dumped for reading Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf.

The man asked to remain anonymous over concerns him snitching could result in  harassment and threats against him.

Vargas was the 537th person added to the bureau's U.S. Capitol Violence webpage, which has functioned as a 'most wanted' list of January 6 participants since the investigation began more than two years ago.

The Berets by French Deal

French Deal was born at the crossroads of the hip-hop universe and a love for fashion and luxury. More than just a brand, French Deal is the brand that bridges three cultures: urban spirit, Black culture, and hip-hop. Blended with noble materials, African elements, and the classic tradition of the Western male wardrobe, each piece offers originality and authenticity.

Here, everything is a story of roots. Beautiful materials, rare know-how, and history are what the house of French Deal offers.

Beret made with the traditional loincloth of the Baoulé people

French Deal is seen as an elegant revenge, a way of bringing three cultures together, building up creative director Steeven Kodjia and pushing him to express his convictions through his art. Authenticity is uncompromising here. Yes, we are talking about success, but pulled up from one’s own boot straps. Yes, we tell the story of the richness of each object, but backed by the values of exceptional ancestral work.

Driver

Driver is a rapper, producer, MC and beatmaker who has been a leader in the French hip-hop scene for over 20 years.

He is a regular member of the jury of the a cappella battles of the French league Rap Contenders.

Known for his stories and anecdotes, Driver hosts the show “Ride with Driver” on YouTube where he tells the lives of artists who have shaped the hip-hop music culture and the history of the major hip-hop labels founded by the culture’s players.

He also hosts the podcast “Featuring,” in which he hosts a special guest on each new episode for a conversation about rap.

Ewande Nelson

French dancer, choreographer and artistic director, Ewande Nelson is a major figure in the world of Hip-Hop dance, he excels in the discipline of Popping internationally. Concerned with transmitting his art and passion, he leads Popping workshops all over the world.

After winning several major dance competitions such as Juste Debout (2010, 2016, 2018), Kod World Finals (2011, 2018), World Dance Colloseum (2012, 2018), RedBull Bc 1 All Style (2017), he now takes part in these competitions as a judge, choreographer of artists and event organizer.

Jesie Nelson

Jessica Louise Nelson (1991) is an English singer who rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix from 2011 to 2020.

Before joining Little Mix, Nelson landed two acting roles as an extra in About a Boy in 2002 and in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, both of which are uncredited for.

As part of Little Mix, Nelson achieved five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart and released a BBC One documentary titled Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, which documented her experiences with body image and online bullying. It won the Factual Entertainment Award at the 25th National Television Awards and also a Visionary Honour Award for Documentary of the Year.