Nicola Formichetti on why ‘staying relevant’ in fashion is irrelevant

No matter what room Nicola Formichetti steps in, it’s impossible to deny his influence on the fashion world at large. He once served as the creative director of Dazed, and his diverse portfolio spans from design roles at Mugler and Diesel to working with celebrities like JLo and Charli XCX, as well as being the mastermind behind Lady Gaga’s iconic meat dress.

This was clear at Dazed Archive Live in New York on February 15, in partnership with Lenovo and powered by Intel – as part of the launch of Lenovo’s ‘Make Space’ platform, which encourages young creatives to discover new possibilities using technology and AI to uplift the creative process. Fashion theorist Rian Phin spoke to Formichetti about the integration of technology and social media in luxury storytelling, along with the importance of authenticity in the digital world – especially in fashion.

The connection between fashion and social media is undoubtedly linear today, but in the early days of the internet, tastemakers like Formichetti had to carve out their own platforms. Nowadays, it’s difficult to find a luxury brand that isn’t on social media, but Formichetti recalls a time when his peers thought he was crazy for engaging with Facebook and Tumblr in the same way we use Instagram and TikTok today. Rather than succumb to the status quo, he saw the unwavering benefits of using social media as a tool.

When looking back on the conception of social media and how it's shaped fashion, Formichetti realises that he’s still not learning. Like any student eager to learn, Nicola Formichetti is constantly striving to work with technology – not against it. Below are the key takeaways from his conversation with Phin.

FASHION ONCE REJECTED THE INTERNET

“When I was working for Uniqlo, I did all of my casting on Facebook. It sounds so normal today, but at that time, people thought I was crazy. When I was first at Mugler, we would open up backstage and do livestreams. And then when I went to Diesel, Tumblr was just starting – and I went to find other artists on Tumblr. Fashion brands are very archaic and very old thinking because they’re huge corporations and business parts. So even when social media first started, it took a couple of years for brands to start using Instagram.”

THE INTERNET IS FAR FROM FORGIVING

“I never cared about what other people think. I care about what my friends think. Sometimes you just go, ‘OK, that’s not working.’ So, you go a different way and try to make things work. And I think that’s one of the biggest problems we have today with social media. You get all these crazy comments, and now we’re kind of used to it, so you just try not to read too much into it. But at the beginning of Twitter, oh my god. I became a little bit known because of my first big job at Mugler, and suddenly, people were no longer commenting about my work but the way I look, too. It was like, ‘Who the fuck are you?’ So that was a little hard for people.”

Don’t think about it. Just dive in and make mistakes

SO, BE SURE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR VISION

“You need to feel it first; you and your collaborators need to feel it first. It has to be a thing between us. That’s the most important thing. Then, if people like it, great. But if you don’t like what you’re doing, what’s the point? Sometimes, people won’t like it, which is OK, but you have to love it and be convinced. You have to create your own story and your own magic, and then just make sure that you have collaborators that you’re in line with. And now, with social media, you really get to collaborate with everybody.”

BEING RELEVANT IS IRRELEVANT

“I never cared about being relevant. If I cared about that, I wouldn’t be here. You just need to love what you’re doing. After maybe ten years in this business, I was overwhelmed. I was flying everywhere and working on so many different things. So, I quit most of it, which was pretty hard to do. I have to put my heart and soul into what I’m doing. If I really cared about being relevant, I would’ve kept going and added another job. I kind of went away; I moved to LA from New York to regroup.”

DON’T OVERTHINK IT

“Don’t think about it. Just dive in and make mistakes. There are so many amazing platforms, apps, and communities. So, don’t be scared. Just do it.”