Sad news.
When I heard that Nicola Formichetti was leaving Mugler I was like "naaaah, that's just a rumor". Well, it turned out to be true. After two years as creative director of the french fashion house, Nico decided to part ways with Mugler and to be honest I really don't understand why. He picked up the ashes of the brand (that was completely decadent) and built a whole new project - a modern sophisticated brand, with a young appeal. The designs made a difference in the fashion landscape, I loved it... the cuts were sleek and refined, concepts were avant-garde and it quickly became one of the brands I looked up for. I clearly remember the collection with Rick Genest (the Zombie Boy) and all those veils and leather garments... the other one very British-underground with bleached jeans, neon creepers... or even the recent one with coral and mint suits, python monk shoes. Uhhhhh... I can't express my love in words. He revitalized and revamped Thierry Mugler, he even got Lady GaGa as a marketing tool to give buzz to one of the collections. The man is a genius!!!
(Selection of Mugler's best moments during Nicola Formichetti's reign)
Last year was kind of a whirlwind too, since Formichetti saw the closure of Vogue Hommes Japan, where he worked as a fashion editor doing countless iconic and charismatic editorials. However, in the meantime he opened some pop-up stores and developed his adorably funny obsession for pandas - NICOPANDA. Basically he was doin' his thing! On the split with Mugler, I didn't see it coming, at all... Joel Palix (general director of Mugler) released a vague statement about the matter:
“Nicola has accomplished our original mission of bringing his energy to the brand. With his talent for communication and understanding of modern imagery and design, Nicola has been instrumental in attracting a new audience which is undeniably crucial for the future strategy of the house. He will be a historical part of the Mugler legacy and known as the force that catapulted us forward.”
I don't know if there were some creative differences or whatever, but there was probably surely another invitation on the way. Nicola Formichetti announced that he's going to be the new artistic director of Diesel... and I was like "what-the-effing-hell?". I mean, it doesn't make sense! I want to believe that Nico sees Diesel as a challenge, even though the brand has a DNA that he can't change much. I may be wrong but Formichetti will have to tame his limitless imagination and boldness. According to a press release, the designer will serve as Diesel’s first artistic director and will be responsible not only for product design, but also marketing, communication and interior design. The founder of Diesel, Renzo Rosso, said:
“I finally met somebody as crazy as I am. Nicola shares my vision and I find it incredibly inspiring to work with him: two creative planets are colliding to generate fresh, mad, insane ideas. With his help, I want to break more rules and bring the real Diesel to a new generation.”
The positive side of this: both of them seem to have a taste for outlandish/weird ideas and if they mix up high fashion with streetwear it can be interesting. However, personally I do not feel very attracted to Diesel itself, it's not one of those labels I desperately wanna buy, you know?! On the other hand, there's a VERY COOL Diesel x Formichetti project, which is live now on a website and it's called #DIESELREBOOT. You can go to http://dieselreboot.tumblr.com and see for yourself.
The concept consists in a revolution of Diesel's DNA, which will be re-buit, refreshed, rediscovered, reactivated. The motto is: no rules, fun, original, new, fresh and different. The TUMBLR thingy is pretty cool and there's an open e-mail written by Nicola, check it out.
I'm praying that this is not about too many fireworks and little results. Let's see where #DIESELREBOOT leads us to. (And before you attack me I want to let you all know that I'm conscious about my dramatic moment on this matter. I just have a lot of feelings... and faces to express my reactions...)
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