Sylvia Sermenghi: speaking from the heart on behalf of animals in Monaco

In the run-up to the next Rokethon Monaco, we met up with an exceptional woman who proves, every day, that supreme elegance is fuelled by commitment to a cause.

When she speaks, her voice is as warm as the Indian Ocean of her childhood. Born on Réunion Island, Sylvia Sermenghi grew up with goats, rabbits and birds on the family farm.  “My father kept an aviary under my window. In the morning, I could hear the birds singing, it made me happy,” she says. Even today, Rokethon Monaco’s president marvels at nature with the same childlike wonder, but also with the determination of a woman who has chosen to act.

From hotels to haute couture

When she arrived at the age of eighteen, the young Reunionnaise discovered what was still a provincial Principality: “Everyone knew everyone else,” she recalls. But above all, she felt a deep sense of wonder: coming here was a childhood dream come true.  “When I was a little girl, I used to leaf through Paris Match and tell myself: one day, I’ll go there and I’ll get to know the princely family,” she says. What was an improbable dream thirteen thousand kilometres away came true a few years later when Sylvia Sermenghi met Princess Grace. “To my mind she absolutely embodied grace, she had a radiant presence.”

After studies in Nice and Montpellier, she found her first job at the Fairmont Monte-Carlo, called “Le Loews” at the time. At barely twenty years old, she ran several restaurants there: “It was a different time: life was simpler, more joyful.”

Inquisitive and ambitious, Sylvia Sermenghi soon turned to entrepreneurship. Her lifelong passion – fashion – became her profession: she created her own brand, Legends Monaco, and carved out a place for herself in the demanding world of Parisian haute couture.  “Everything was handmade, with silk and pearls. I was managing fifty models, hairdressers, make-up artists… all on my own, with a little budget, up against the likes of Dior or Lanvin!” she says, without bragging.

Her independence is her credo.  “I do what I want, when I want,”  she says, quoting Gary Cooper and his ‘rugged individualism’. She isn’t looking for recognition, however: “I never waited for the media.” What guides her is her passion. Still.

“The earth teaches me humility.”

For some years now, Sylvia Sermenghi has been living surrounded by animals and plants. In her garden, she grows vegetables, practises permaculture and treats her plants with other plants: “Comfrey treats sick trees, but who knows that?” she asks, sad to see humans so far removed from nature.

Her pets are part of the family. Dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, chickens…: “I’ve lost count,”  she admits, her eyes misting over at the mention of her little Caramel, who died at the age of eighteen.  “They teach me humility, patience and, above all, joy. They make me laugh, even when I don’t feel like it.”

Rokethon Monaco: a plea from the heart against abandonment

One of them, Rocket, a little female dog she adopted, gave her name to Rokethon. Along with close friend Paula Paduroiu, Sylvia Sermenghi founded the non-profit in 2023. Together, they want to take concrete action against animal abandonment, and to promote adoption.

The first event made a big splash: a big charity walk organised at the Fontvieille marquee, and above all, with Princess Charlene there.  “I knew her before she was married. There has always been mutual respect between us,” says Sylvia modestly.

Since then, a team of passionate volunteers has undertaken Rokethons many projects: adoption campaigns, international partnerships and soon, if funding is forthcoming, the creation of a model refuge, a large estate where the animals they take in could live and recover before being adopted. “A big family of dogs,” she dreams.

Monaco and animal welfare

She believes Monaco can set an example concerning animal protection, even if there is still a long way to go.  “People love dogs here, but there are few spaces and few suitable facilities for them.”  Although there is now a small clinic in Fontvieille, she believes that more needs to be done: a real veterinary hospital and educational programmes for children.

She is not afraid to tackle sensitive subjects. Like when she talks about stray dogs being massacred in Morocco, which upsets and angers her in equal measure: “I would have liked to have got the AS Monaco players involved, to show that we can condemn without politicising.” A project that is on hold through lack of resources.  “But I’m not giving up.”

Monaco’s Brigitte Bardot?

“No, Brigitte Bardot is still here,” she smiles. But with her quiet determination, it’s hard not to see in her the SPA founder’s spiritual heir. Sylvia’s commitment is a daily one, of tenderness and concrete action.  “Abandonment is a form of abuse. Healing also means fixing that wound.”

In her house, tucked away between the hills and the sea, the animals she has taken in frolic, rest and learn to trust again. The place is like a haven: a living refuge, in her own image.  “I want to create a place where animals are simply happy, cared for and respected.”

“The animals are my masters”

When asked what keeps her going, she immediately answers: “Them.” Animals are were she gets her energy, her driving force. “They remind me every day that life is simple. All it takes is love and respect.”

In a world that is often noisy, Sylvia Sermenghi works away without fuss, with the calm of those who know why they get up in the morning. Silk dresses and dirty boots – the designer and activist are one and the same person. One foot in couture, the other in nature: beauty and kindness, guided by the same star.