Nicola Formichetti is best know as Thierry Mugler’s creative director and Lady Gaga’s stylist, but in a twist of fate, he stepped to the forefront, as he allowed Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg, collectively The Hilton Brothers, to take intimate portraits of him. “The Hilton Brothers: Tyrants + Lederhosen” at the Christopher Henry Gallery in Manhattan fill feature the collaborative effort between the three men in what will certainly be a provocative evening. In addition to the Tyrants + Lederhosen exhibition, the Hilton Brothers have a new book by the same name. The self-described “photo-anthropologists” have packed their artistic travelogue with shots from their globe-trotting travels over the past eight years. Solberg’s 2008 shot of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in his Beijing studio is among the more indelible images in the Tyrants + Lederhosen show and book.

Source: WWD

Dazed Digital presents a behind-the-scenes look at Nicola Formichetti‘s attempt at a virtual fashion show. Formichetti, notably known as Lady Gaga’s stylist, collaborated with multiplayer game company CCP, creating a platform where fashion and the digital world come together. Watch the tedious process of designing clothes for Mugler model Rick Genest’s avatar on a virtual catwalk, an act combining multiple people’s talents. You can also read about the entire process at Dazed Digital.

After the temporary New York City pop-up store, Nicola Formichetti’s frantic expansion has largely been seen as inevitable with his creations gracing the virtual world with an online pop-up on September 28 at 9 p.m. GMT. The highly anticipated shop will be officially called “Nicola’s Pop Up Shop” and will launch along with MUGLER WOMEN’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection. To make the launch more exciting, a set of promo shots by Japanese photographer Eisuke Negishi is presented here. The highly stylized range of photos can be viewed through Nicola’s Pop Up Shop as it features Dario, Prince and Nicola himself.

UNIQLO officially announce a special collaboration with designer Nicola Formichetti as the two embark on a presentation of the retailer’s new line. There are no specifics mentioned but an unveiling will take place tomorrow in New York City and we’ll be sure to update a bit more then. Stay tuned for further news and developments as they come!

Mugler creative director Nicola Formichetti has certainly garnered a lot of press for his relationship with Lady Gaga, launch of “Zombie Boy” into the world of international modeling, and controversial choice to drop “Thierry” from the French label’s name. Showing no signs of slowing down, Mr. Formichetti has recently unveiled this trailer for his upcoming men’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection to be showcased in a film helmed by artist and fashion photographer Branislav Jankic. Besides some chain-heavy models rocking questionably skimpy Mugler bathing suits, not much of the actual fashion can be glimpsed from the trailer. Nonetheless, images from the full collection as well as the entirety of the film – which have been dubbed “Brothers of Arcadia” – should be released soon.

Non-profit arts and culture organization BOFFO will be presenting the 2nd annual “Building Fashion” event in New York. The event is a celebration of cutting-edge fashion design uniting vibrant architects with acclaimed fashion designers. With the official support of CFDA, BOFFO handpicked fashion designers to showcase their work with a series of retail installations giving them the opportunity to work with architects in their first freestanding retail environment. Offered above is a video featuring designer Nicola Formichetti. Enjoy!

GILT presents a new video featuring Lady Gaga’s fashion director and designer Nicola Formichetti. The piece follows Nicola through a daily travel. He also speaks of his past experiences and his drive to create. Further information on his curated apparel campaign with GILT can be found here. Enjoy!

In a short time, the tattoo’d face & body of Rick Genest has flooded the fashion world as somebody who has essentially become the face of fashion brand Mugler. Mugler’s Creative Director Nicola Formichetti initially saw a picture of Genest on the internet which he thought at the time was makeup. Reaching out to Genest over Facebook, over a 2-week period he tried his best to get the necessary documentation (Genest didn’t have a passport) so that he could travel to Paris for the brand’s fall/winter show. A selection of answers can be seen below while the full interview can be seen over at Hint Magazine.

Lee Carter: How did you find Rick Genest?
Nicola Formichetti: I found Rico on Facebook.

You just stumbled across his profile?
I had his picture on my wall forever. I saw it one day on Google. I thought it was amazing Halloween make-up done by Peter Philips or something. I mean, I’ve done so many shoots with skull make-up. And then, in October I got my first tattoo, a triangle with a circle inside, an ancient Japanese symbol meaning centeredness. And the tattoo artist who did it, my friend Maxime, who has this tattoo magazine called Sang Bleu, saw that picture and said, “Oh yeah, that guy is zombie boy. He lives in Montreal.”

So you sought Rico out on Facebook and asked him to model for you.
Yeah, I just wanted him to be the face of whatever we were going to create. At that point the clothes were, you know, proper suits and shirts and very clean. I just needed to have some kind of a twist to it or…

An edge.
Yeah, so after seeing his pictures on Facebook, I just thought he was so inspiring. Just by looking at his pictures I changed the whole collection.

You changed the whole collection?
Well, I added more, by taking stuff from him, making it a bit darker and gothicy. So basically I Facebooked him and was like, “You know, I’m doing this thing in Paris and I would love you to be there in two weeks.” He emailed me back straightaway and he was like, “Yeah, sure, I would love to, but I don’t have a passport.” And then I start thinking how the fuck is he going to get a passport in time?

Having covered the recent Fall/Winter 2011 collection from Mugler quite extensively, we now get more of a personal take on the collection through creative director Nicola Formichetti. Amongst other topics we learn a bit more about the recent show and apparel designs, of course created with avant-garde menswear designer Romain Kremer, who along with Formichetti, make up the creative duo behind Mugler. An excerpt from the interview is offered below.

Talk me through the inspiration for the show…

I went through the archives and took all the things I liked and did a styling session with stuff from 1992, 1987 etc…

So what did you pick from these years?

I saw them in a very abstract way, and made it into rubbers and pearls…

There was a clear dark and moody angle to the clothes though…

A little bit yes, because it was to do with death, re-birth, anatomy and the evolution of clothes.

You mention rubber, there was quite a lot of synthetic materials in there…

Ah yeah totally, it is so Mugler to use non-conventional fabrics. He was using it back then and it still feels very fresh for me. There’s always a twist towards streetwear and the undergorund scene.

Do you have a favourite piece?

I liked them all, but for me it was more about the people, like Riko with the tattoos. He gave himself the skull tattoo as a birthday present when he was 20, he’s great…

The interview in its entirety is available here.

Serving as creative director of Dazed & Confused magazine, a senior editor at AnOther and AnOther Man and store owner of Side by Side, Nicola Formichetti has carved himself quite an impressive resume in less than a decade. The half-Italian and half-Japanese Formichetti recent gave a look into his home, pushing his creative talents with an eclectic mix of design methods alongside a steady collection of retro furniture and toys.

Source: Telegraph, Coute Que Coute