Riccardo Tisci, the new face of international fashion

The new face of international fashion is from Apulia. For four years he has been the creative director of “Givenchy”, the brand that designs dresses for the celebrities of the international show business.
Riccardo Tisci, 34, is an Italian fashion designer. He lived in Como but has always claimed to be from Apulia (his family is from Palagianello, in the province of Taranto and he has a strong bond with his origins). He is the only son in a family with 9 children. 8 daughters and a son. He spent his childhood in Cermenate, in the province of Como, where his dad - who died when he was very young - was a greengrocer. “A little money but a lot of love. This was how our family worked. A widow who made a lot of sacrifices to make ends meet and to keep us on the right track. None of us has led a disorderly life, all of us have a normal life, we have a job and we always remember our mother's motto: “forget the good things you do for others”. This is what Riccardo said about his childhood in an interview for the newspaper “La provincia di Como” last July. He did not forget to thank those who played a big part in his success. “I had the chance to continue my education after middle school and this I owe to Mr Borriero. He persuaded my mother to let me study even though we did not have money”. Riccardo attended the Art school in Cantù while working to earn a living. “I’ve always been shy and had few friends, Sara, Monica, who are still my friends. I communicated with my drawings and while at school I had a lot of odd jobs. When I finished the Art school, at 17, I won a contest for an internship at Faro, in Como. Missoni, Paloma Picasso bought my drawings. I was happy but I would have not believed to become what I am now. I wanted to have money to maintain my family, but I also wanted to go to London and keep drawing. There I made the jump. I was a salesman in a shop. I attended a free drawing course and there I met a teacher who urged me on trying the entrance exam at St. Martin's. The temple of fashion! Where would I find 10,000£ per year to attend it? Despite that, I went ahead with the application process for my pride and out of a thousand candidates, I was one of only 100 accepted. But no money, no school. The headmaster told me I should not waste my talent and she convinced me to take another exam for a state scholarship. I passed it and the St. Martin’s became a reality. It would not have happened in Italy. The fashion show at the end of the course launched my career. I called it “8 e mezzo, the procession”.
After graduating at the Central Saint Martin’s College of London, he designed for Antonio Berardi, Puma, Coccopani. In 2004, he presented the first collection under his own name.            
Since March 2005, he has been the creative director of Givenchy (Lymh Group), one of the most prestigious brands of French luxury. Today he is the only designer for haute couture woman’s, man’s and accessories collections. He has been acclaimed by critics and had a commercial success thanks to a style that combines modern elegance and romanticism, sensuality and a delicate melancholy. For Givenchy, he designs dresses for celebrities like Carla Bruni, Nicole Kidman and the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who recently died. In 2008, the American pop-star Madonna asked him to design the costumes for her impressive Sticky and Sweet Tour and so he created wonderful art-deco costumes for her.