A recent profile of Nicola Formichetti, the new creative director at Mugler, centers around his high-visibility relationship with the bankable pop star, Lady Gaga.
The comeback collection at Mugler under stylist and Lady Gaga pal Nicola Formichetti was arguably the most hyped-up spectacle of the Paris shows—even amidst designer scandals and breakdowns. The New York Times took a look at how the new creative director worked, and found that Formichetti looks at the work as more of a buddy system than a money system.
Having gotten a lot of mileage out of Lady Gaga's epic draw—both walking the runway and debuting her new single on the airwaves at the show—Formichetti seems to shrug off any zealous dependence on the endorsement. After all, she's doing it all for free. “It’s just friends helping each other,” Formichetti told The Times. “I think when you start talking about money, it stops the whole creative process for me.”
The article goes on to quote industry insiders close to Formichetti like Jo-Ann Furniss, former editor in chief of Arena Homme Plus, who points out his well-established career prior to meeting Gaga:
Although he was “almost evangelical” about Lady Gaga when he first became aware of her, Ms. Furniss said — to the consternation of his cool London friends — Mr. Formichetti, as an established stylist, was in a far more powerful position than the singer. “She had been aware of what he was doing for years,” Ms. Furniss said, adding: “He’s not making a name off her back, and she realized that. Their relationship is very touching and nice.”
The article also points out that Gaga was the one that encouraged Formichetti to take the Mugler gig, and interestingly, Formichetti did not contact the reclusive brand's founder, Thierry Mugler, after taking on the position.
