An art director at Louis Vuitton, fashion photographer, owner of jewellery brand De Amicis, screenwriter and consultant for some of the biggest fashion brands around – is there anything Flavio Tarquini can’t do? We spent a few minutes finding out how he got in to such a complex career.
Hey Flavio! To start with, can you tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do and what you’re passionate about?
I’m Flavio Tarquini and I’m an art director at Louis Vuitton as well as a creative campaign consultant for other brands like Bulgari. I’m also a photographer and a screenwriter.
One of my biggest passions is storytelling which can be expressed in many ways through fashion, film and photography etc. I recently founded a studio to follow more brands and help me to create different stories for each brand I’m working with.
If I had to describe myself, I would say I am stubborn, passionate, pissed off and in love.
What made you gravitate towards fashion?
Fashion is something that happened, I didn’t look for it. I started out studying film but have always been in love with fashion film and photography, so after looking at magazines like Dazed or i-D and studying the Gucci advertising films, I landed in fashion.
LV is such a huge brand, has it been an achievement for you working for them?
Honestly yes, but for me it’s never enough. Once I got the position at LV I was already looking at what I wanted to do next!
How did you land the job? And how does it keep you busy?
I got the job at LV after working at the studio of the art director Riccardo Ruini, who is famous for working with big brands like Gucci, Valentino, Fendi and Bulgari. Working in the fashion world is really intense, especially on the creative side because everything changes so quickly so you have to be ready for anything and able to keep up. But it’s amazing if you can handle it and I get a lot back from working in fashion.
Do you have advice for young creatives wanting to pursue a similar career path to you?
For the new generation my advice is to be hungry, be stubborn and be smart. If you can’t get to your destination using one path, try another one and if that one doesn’t work keep trying until you get there. Never give up, but be smart with it – if something isn’t working for you then change your approach instead of trying and failing with the same results. Don’t be afraid to run for what you want and knock at every door along the way. There’s an Italian saying that luck is something that you have to kick and say wake up luck, I want you! And finally, sitting on the couch all day never gets you anywhere!