Photographer Emilio Murolo – Talent Bruno Casanovas – Interview by Melania Musci
For someone who’s completely new to Nude Project, what’s that one thing you’d say to help them understand your brand’s DNA?
I think we’re trying to do something big. It might sound cliché, but the reason why people come to the store is because they feel this is more than just a brand, it’s a way of seeing the world, it’s an attitude towards it. If these were just clothes, people wouldn’t come here on a rainy day like today; they would wait until tomorrow or shop online. It’s a way for them to connect. The most amazing thing is seeing the community interact. When we open a store and there’s a line outside, people actually become friends while they wait. Why? Because the main thing they have in common is their love for Nude Project. That bond is instant and already creates a friendship. One of my most beautiful memories is a marriage proposal during one of our parties. I remember thinking, ‘We’re going to create Nude babies’ (Laughs, E.D.). That’s the most beautiful thing about my job. I feel that I’m not just creating a community for young people, as it’s described by many, but a community for young souls, for people of all ages.
The concept of ‘community’ is very important to you, and you’ve created amazing experiences like the Nude Project Mansion in Ibiza to connect with it. What do you personally take away from these events? What’s the biggest emotional impact they have on you and Alex? These experiences are trying to make the dream of the 18-year-old Bruno happen, you know?
When I was a kid, I watched the movie ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’, and I wanted my life to look like Willy’s factory one day. So, I feel like everything I do is my interpretation of this dream. The Nude Project Mansion has been the ‘place to be’ during summer. My team and I
stayed there, and of course we were working, but we were also having fun. It’s also a kind of gift to the people who have helped us along the way – many Italian artists and rappers who supported the brand came to the Mansion. I think it’s a very cool opportunity to give back to those who have supported the brand for so long. And also to have fun, why not? I feel like sometimes all that business makes people lose the concept of just having fun because everything becomes so serious and structured. So I try to keep my inner child alive while I commit myself to growing Nude Project. My dream has become a reality.
Many brands tried to make it big on Instagram in 2018, but few actually did. What’s the secret ingredient that turned Nude Project from a trend into a reality with over a million followers?
It’s a good question. What’s the difference? I’d say the difference is that we’ve always tried to be as genuine as possible, genuine as far as being the most real. And I feel like when you’re so real, it’s very hard to copy because the brand evolves with you. I’m not the same person I was a week or a month ago, and neither is Nude Project. I always tell my marketing team: ‘Our job is to tell people who Nude Project is. Don’t do more.’ And I think as long as we keep doing that in a good way, people are always going to connect to us because people connect to realness. I think our generation has become incredibly adept at seeing through the noise. In a world where we’ve been oversaturated with fake things and fake people, our audience just wants something real.
Lately, you’ve dedicated an Instagram post to Alex Benlloch, thanking him for being your business partner and best friend. Is it always great to work with someone who’s like family to you, or are there times when you wish your private and work lives were separate?
I’m so glad you saw that post. It makes me so happy (Smiles, E.D.). I think he’s the best thing that’s happened to me in my life. As I said before, the business world is very hard, and this being my first job, it’s the only one I know. I find it very difficult to keep up with the public and maintain attention. There are definitely ups and downs, but having someone I feel complementary to is the greatest support I could ever hope for. We share the joyful moments, like throwing amazing parties, but also the more difficult ones. If we cry, we cry together. And, as basic as it sounds, this world is much better shared. My definition of success is doing what I love alongside the people I love. I’d take a small house full of healthy friends over a solitary mansion any day.
Your brand’s language is very direct and contemporary, even from a photographic point of view. What are your main inspirations in this regard?
I have one main inspiration: Slim Aarons. He’s a photographer from the 70’s and 80’s. He was famous for photographing ‘attractive people doing attractive things’ but his work always captured the real moment, not a posed one. For me his work is incredible because he was taking photographs at a moment when people didn’t know what they looked like when they were being photographed. Now, we all know how to make the best face for a photo, we know our best angle, and all of that makes us less spontaneous. What I love about Slim Aarons’ work is the opposite – the way all the faces look so real. He was lucky enough to travel with the coolest and most famous families from all over the world and to capture their faces in beautiful places. His images just ooze energy.
Following up on that topic, how did the idea for your latest denim campaign come about?
That campaign is beautiful, thank you for talking about it. Honestly, I think that one was more directly inspired by the whole Calvin Klein 90’s era. Calvin Klein and a few other key brands were just so amazing during that time. What we tried to capture was that feeling of unfiltered youth and raw energy. The 90’s golden era of American ads was all about freshness. It was minimal, but so powerful. There was this perfect blend: it was effortlessly cool, a bit sexual, but always inclusive and about mixing people and aesthetics. I think that simplicity is what truly resonated with us.
Looking back, was choosing Milan for your first store the right move? And where in the world will Nude Project conquer next?
Once I heard a story about a very successful fashion businessman that started in Spain. He opened his first store in Spain and the next one in New York. When the news broke that he wanted to open one in New York, everyone close to him started to scare him. ‘Do you know how far New York is?’, they all told him. But he didn’t give up because he thought that if they can make it in New York, they can make it everywhere. It was the same for me with Milan. This city is the capital of the fashion world, and it’s mostly high-luxury boutiques with little presence when it comes to prêt-à-porter shops, and that scared us a lot. But we also felt that Italy and Spain were like cultural and emotional cousins, so we went for it, and we made it. Now the rest of the world scares me a little less, and I think Nude Project could go everywhere eventually. I feel like our message, not from an ego standpoint, is something fresh to the fashion industry. A world of serious, snob fashion has existed for so long that nowadays everyone enjoys seeing a group of kids being creative, having a lot of fun while making cool clothes. We just opened a store in Amsterdam and I don’t know if it’s public but I’m gonna tell you (Smiles, E.D.) we’re going to open a store in Rome too. Maybe because Italy is the only place I’d move to in the world apart from Spain; every time I’m here I want to stay a bit longer.
This interview will be published in the ‘Handshake’ section of The Greatest’s website. What’s the most emotional handshake you remember from the birth of Nude Project to today?
You know, I’m not a big handshake guy. I do a lot of hugs instead. The most special one was with Alex about five years ago. It was our first Black Friday night, and the brand was tiny; we were still operating out of our university rooms. We were usually only getting one or two orders a day. That night, however, we hit three hundred orders and that was crazy. That moment felt so magical and so special because we finally knew we could actually live off our dream.
Last question. What was your childhood dream? Did it have anything to do with fashion?
I’ve always been a dreamer, but I was never entirely sure what I wanted when I was little. I would have liked to be a musician, then an actor, maybe a YouTuber, and eventually a designer. I wanted to express myself, but one of my biggest insecurities was that I wouldn’t be good enough at any of those things. I felt like I couldn’t excel at anything. As I got older, I realised that I had always dreamt of communicating my vision of the world, and that dream transformed into Nude Project. This brand isn’t just clothing for me; it allows me to transmit what I think in so many different ways. I design, but I also do communication campaigns, host a podcast, and plan stores, all within this one enterprise called Nude Project. I think I’m literally living my dream. That’s great.