Sounds Sweet Harmony from The Beloved, “Is it right or wrong/Try to find a place/Can we all belong?” (Is it right or wrong? / Trying to find a place / Can we all belong?). Meanwhile, Nicola Formichetti (Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, 48 years old), proudly shows off his first campaign as global creative director of MAC: I only wear MAC. A series of black and white images signed by the prestigious duo Inez & Vinoodh and interpreted by a heterogeneous cast (from Kris Jenner to Doja Cat, passing through the models Amar Akway and Kristen McMenamy). Everything seems imbued with a nineties spirit; even Nicola himself, who states that his Spotify mainly broadcasts music from that decade: “Pop and R&B from the nineties… I also like classical music. I play the piano, so I love Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Chopin or Debussy. But I mostly listen to artists like Kate Bush, Massive Attack… I’m very from the nineties.”
Today’s trends exude nostalgia for that era, so the designer is in the right decade. “The most exciting things happened in the field of beauty and fashion in those years. I love the minimalism of the nineties, black and white with silver. They coexisted contouring with the grunge. The soundtrack of the campaign, Sweet Harmony, It was a very popular song then, and it goes something like this: ‘Let’s come together / Right now“(sings, ‘let’s come together, right now.’) It’s about being together.” Is beauty truly an inclusive industry that embraces everyone? “I think so, more and more. But it’s always been that way at MAC. It’s in the motto: all ages, all races, all genders. Today it’s normal, but we’ve always said it. Now more than ever, in this divided world where so many crazy things happen, that message is especially important.”
Formichetti’s career, which began in fashion, challenged the conventions of the genre. Before dedicating himself to beauty, he was a consultant for various brands and creative director of Mugler and Diesel, although he gained worldwide fame working as Lady Gaga’s stylist. He was the mastermind behind the singer’s legendary entrance at the 2011 Grammy Awards, wrapped in a Hussein Chalayan egg. Also iconic is the dress made with pieces of meat with which the interpreter of bad Romance appeared at the 2010 MTV Awards. What is the story behind a style that made history? “We wanted to do something fun, but also meaningful. To say that we are all the same inside. Your ‘flesh’ looks like mine. Our blood is the same. It was a very divided moment, that of ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ (Don’t ask, don’t tell) of gays in the military. It’s crazy to think that 15 years have passed and the world hasn’t changed. Today it is even more divided.”
Lady Gaga has her own beauty brand, Haus Labs, is she competition, a reference or just a friend? “Definitely a friend. I helped her launch Haus Labs, an incredible brand. She is very involved in it. I am a lover of beauty and fashion; I have never competed, not even when I was at Mugler (between 2011 and 2013).” When asked about someone, famous or not, with whom he would like to dress, put on make-up or work, Formichetti is clear: “I feel as if I have worked with everyone. I like discovering new talents and accompanying them on their journey. Of course there are incredible legends, but I’m interested in new things. Now I’m discovering K-pop. In Spain I love Nathy Peluso”. And, he continues: “We are in contact with her”.
Regarding how his career in fashion has influenced this new phase, the global creative director assures that “fashion and beauty always go together. They are the same story. In fashion we use clothes and in beauty, powders and materials; there is no difference. Perhaps the only difference is in the cultural moment: fashion is in fashion and so is beauty. In fact, in this moment I feel that beauty is more fashionable than fashion itself. Before there were big trends that everyone followed, in the eighties, nineties and noughties, but now people are more individualistic. There are many ideas that make the world of beauty more interesting.”
