A stylist working with Elle Italia and the international Elle editions, Eva Geraldine Fontanelli is a favorite it-girl around Milan, adored for her inventive and cheery style that mixes elegant femininity with men’s tailoring. Born to a French mother and Italian father, she brings together the best of those two fashion worlds, with a touch of New York, where she spent four years working, for an eclectic and very personal sense of fashion that she imbues in her work.
I have so much admiration for Mr. Armani. He invented a style and brought it to the whole world. I’ve always been a huge fan. I have an oversized double-breasted jacket that I love at home.
The foundation of my wardrobe is menswear. One of my great icons is Marlene Dietrich. I always play with the contrast between masculine and feminine– it’s a game to play with the meaning of clothing.
Every girl is half boy. There is a masculine spirit in all women. Masculinity is an energy that’s not necessarily linked to being a man.
When I started working, I didn’t even know that the work of “stylist” existed. I was designing jewelry when I discovered it in New York– the city of opportunities– while on set for a shoot there.
I’m always so happy when I wake up to go to work because I love what I do. I like the cross-pollination between fashion, film, and art, so sometimes I think I could become an art director, but for now I wouldn’t change a thing.
I find inspiration in every trip I take, and I travel a lot for both work and pleasure. I find inspiration in looking at all the little details of things, beyond the obvious. I’m always looking at who’s in the corners of photos.
The key to success is simple: be organized. I may seem like an eccentric, but every minute of my day is planned. They tell me I have the spirit of a hippie and the organization of a general.
I’m addicted to my old-school datebook– everything is laid out in detail in my little notebook, so I can add my sketches, even if it seems old-fashioned to be penciling in all my appointments.
-Laura Rysman
