NICCOLÒ LAPO LATINI // Interview

F.T.M – “Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its students” (Hector Berlioz). How does the concept of time influence your work process and your view on art and fashion? 

N.L.L – I like working in dead moments, in the shadows, always in preparation for… When the time comes to step into the light – the day the project is made official, when a campaign is released or the company I’ve worked for is relaunched with a new image and setup – I’m gone. When a fashion week runway show is planned and ready to go live, I disappear; I retreat to the mountains, turn off my phone, and I don’t exist anymore. Speaking a while ago with Art Partner, after a third-party request for an interview with Terry Richardson, they told me they were unsure about going ahead because Terry hadn’t done a project for a while and had no immediate plans for new ones. I remember saying, “Well, an ideal time for an informal chat.” I started working very early; at 17, I set foot on a photography set for the first time. I don’t want to chase after my life; I just want to go with the natural flow of things, whatever the future holds for me. I know it could sound silly but since I stopped forcing myself to make choices, my destiny started deciding for me. It’s so beautiful, so perfect. The void doesn’t allow for contamination. That’s why I often jokingly suggest to my colleagues not to study too much. Studying builds the foundation, but if overused, it risks calcifying the mind. There must be space for improvisation, otherwise, how can we have the opportunity to be original? 

F.T.M – You’ve collaborated with world-renowned photographers and other artists. Is there a particular collaboration that has significantly impacted you or taught you something invaluable? How do you choose who to work with? 

N.L.L – To me intention is one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. Whether it’s a brand, a magazine, or an artist, I choose whom to work with based on the intention I see behind their steps, the purpose of their path. A bigger picture, a deeper meaning, a hidden will. Then I can sit at the table with good or bad people, it doesn’t matter to me. The only type of people I’m truly afraid of are the stupid ones. Regarding my past collaborations, working with Cole Sprouse was definitely exciting. It was the first time I felt such a big personality open up to me, sharing intimate stories from his childhood, confiding desires… It was moving. When Nara, Lucky Blue’s wife, wrote me, giving me Lucky’s contact to work together, I was at home in Milan with my university friends, the night before an exam – it was so insane… On the other hand, I must admit that many of the most important people for my growth have been family friends – architects, painters, musicians, writers… I remember those summer afternoons many years ago when, before starting my classical studies at 14, my tutor, a former university professor of italian literature, taught me ancient Greek and Latin in his underground private library. I’d never seen so many first-edition volumes in my life, hundreds. One day, while watching Ben-Hur in the living room, he turned to me with a stern voice and said, “Niccolò, the world is full of ignorant and graceless monkeys; you must promise me you won’t become one of them.” I obediently nodded, and then he took out carefully preserved a folder of letters signed, “with sincere affection, Pierpaolo Pasolini,” his pen pal. However, thinking about my career, the person who undoubtedly gave a significant turning point was Emanuele Ferrari. I was 20 when I walked into his studio for the first time with a newly commissioned advertising campaign to ask if he would have liked to shoot it. He looked at me, puzzled, and said, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” I was ready for a resounding “no” of course, instead he immediately smiled at me and accepted, letting me then direct the campaign as executive. The project was published in the UK and became successful, with those photographs being republished in Italy, France, and Russia over the following two years… A fragment of that shoot is still in his Art Partner archive. That episode opened the door to other chapters together: the mention in Purple France, Schön Magazine comparing “Buio II” to a Franca Sozzani’s work, the award at TDC68 with Reebok in New York… The day after shooting that campaign, six years ago, I took the train back to my mother’s house and I told her still amazed “Mom, I believe yesterday my career truly began”.

F.T.M – “Life is a great big canvas, throw all the paint on it you can” (Danny Kaye). What “color” do you believe your work has added to the vast landscape of contemporary fashion and art?

N.L.L – As a PM, I can’t have a color. I must represent infinite shades of gray to guide my team and successfully complete a project. This requires flexibility, patience, and resilience. Designing a house in every detail as if it were your family home, yet being ready to dismantle it and redesign elsewhere at a moment’s notice. No emotional attachment, no feelings, just the right thing at the right time. You have to learn to develop a nomadic mindset, traveling light to survive, adaptability or extinction. Like a spider weaving a web from point A to point B, creating connections to ensure stability, a stability built through links. My projects as a PM can involve advertising campaigns, magazine covers, or, as PMO, corporate restructuring, rebranding, new marketing strategies and communication flows… Tasks and challenges can vary, but I still remember the speech I gave to my team as executive the night before shooting for Lacoste in Canada. “A project is like a ski slope. You might encounter blue, red, or black descents, but the difficulty level is relatively unimportant because a true skier knows that a thin sheet of ice or a pile of soft, fresh snow can cause a tilting. A split second, and you’re on the ground. The difficulty of the slope isn’t a reliable indicator of outcome, too many variables. The only important thing – the very first thing every ski instructor teaches to their students – is to trust your knees. The skier’s mind is in the knees because their strength and dynamism allow you to calibrate each turn and deviate from every unexpected obstacle. It’s dirty work of endurance. I don’t want fancy skiers; I want skiers with strong knees”. The assets we work with are money and time, through preventive and curative missions, but it’s the people that make the difference. If you don’t establish a relationship of trust, if there’s no common goal, and if, as a leader in charge, you don’t leave an imprint on each of them, the danger is always lurking.

F.T.M – “Imagination is more important than knowledge” (Albert Einstein). Looking ahead, what new frontiers of imagination are you aiming to explore?

N.L.L – As for this question, I’m afraid I can’t give you a definitive answer. In the last six months, many professionals have asked me, “So, what do you want to do when you grow up?” just as the elementary school teacher did… Isn’t it curious? Gianmario Motta (GM at Spring Studios Milan), Nicolò Bottarelli (Head of Brand Creative at Golden Goose), Fabio Novembre (AD at Driade)… And still I don’t have an answer for any of them. The only reply that comes to my mind is, “just doing my job.” But life keeps unfolding in front of my eyes like a video game story, day after day. I know who I am and where I come from. Every level I complete leads to a new chapter, unlocking unknown skills, meeting amazing people, facing challenges. It’s wonderful, so what does it matter what’s next? And I’ll say more, limits are great. The “no’s” we receive and give define us much more than the “yes’s.” Boundaries create magic that sparks creativity. Without boundaries and contours, where would the fun be? A game without rules isn’t a game.