How to become a stylist at Sanremo

We can associate a look with every memorable moment in the history of the Sanremo Festival. Regardless of the  judgment of the audience, both Berté's baby bump and Belen's slit, as well as Mina's bubbles and Achille Lauro's glittery jumpsuit, have left their mark in the history of Italian pop culture, with repercussions we can still find today, in the outfits of the newcomers. If the Festival continues to hold a record media fame, with a 66% share and an MIV of €310 million, one must credit the stylists and costume designers collaborating with the artists, professionals who are able to concoct impactful images in the Ariston dressing rooms, moments before the start of the competition. As they themselves tell us, the job of a Sanremo stylist is to cast a spell (the word "glamour" itself comes from "enchantment" ), capturing the gaze of the Italian public and gluing it to the television screen for the duration of a song. After all, Loredana Bertè's latex miniskirt from Re is still imprinted in our mind precisely because the blue-haired diva, costume designer Luca Sabatelli, and Gianni Versace were able to conspire a vision so impressive as to withstand the test of time, a dress that beyond its studs and baby bump was endowed with a far-sighted, confident vision. As the 74th edition of the Italian Song Festival approaches, we asked the five stylists of Sanremo to tell us their tricks, what helped them reach the Ariston stage, and their biggest aspirations. An unprecedented interview, conducted under wraps because the looks have yet to hit the stage, here's how to become a stylist at Sanremo.

For the Italian music scene, Tiny Idols is a real cornerstone, a guiding light moving in the shadows of the pop world. They have dressed the most important names in the industry, from Blanco to Coez, from Sfera Ebbasta to Gianmaria, and even though they have already achieved monumental milestones, including Super Bowl ads and collaborations with acclaimed magazines, they still feel the need to take risks. After all, to do this job it's not enough to be fascinated by fashion, a world, as the founder of the factory tells us, «full of ambiguity and prejudice,» you need to cultivate a cultural baggage rich in «passion, mindset, empathy, know-how, taste, and ethics». An artistic project founded by a stylist and costume designer who wanted to change the rules, forming a community in an industry that oftentimes focuses on the careers of individual creatives, Tiny Idols curates the image of the most innovative faces in music by putting their bets on the plurality of perspectives. «I have always believed that art comes from confrontation, with the world and with oneself,» says the founder of the group, who will be curating the image of Il Tre this year, competing with "Fragili". The inspiration for the looks he will be wearing comes directly from the lyrics of his song, a track that «pays homage to life in its deepest folds, to the soul so perfect in its vulnerabilities,» says Tiny Idols. On the Ariston stage, she reveals that the beauty of fragility will be expressed lightly and authentically through «cracked finishes, fragmented transparencies, raw cuts, and distressed effects.»

In addition to the success of the talents they have represented, what makes the work of Tiny Idols highly impactful is the attention they dedicate to the artist's soul. In Tiny Idols' pop universe, where originality is everything, work is dictated by respect and sensitivity. «Just as the artist gives voice to a certain loop of emotions and draws in a certain kind of listener, we also have an important function,» says the stylist, «that of bringing them even closer to their context. It is important to know very well the target audience being referred to in order to strengthen this nature and this deep bond.» Just as fashion and music are artistic forms that allow you to travel with your imagination and explore uncharted territories, the core of every Sanremo collaboration must act in total respect of the artist's identity. Even when representing a very young artist, Tiny Idols tells us, the margin of error is very high on a stage like the Ariston. «Every artist has their own soul, and our job is to translate it into an image, strongly contributing to their identity in the music scene,» she says. «At Sanremo, this synthesis is maximum, everything must be calibrated and decided to help make it memorable.» The confirmation that, in a competitive and individualistic industry like fashion, collaboration continues to be an added value. This year too, we will find some of the Tiny Idols community on the Sanremo stage, hidden behind the fragility of Il Tre.

The complete rebranding that Sanremo has undergone in recent years bears the signature of Amadeus as much of that of Nick Cerioni. A stylist who has contributed to relaunching the event at a time when the reputation of the Festival was declining, Cerioni has co-written the most important chapters of the recent editions of Sanremo: Achille Lauro's performances in Gucci, with whom he still collaborates, and the looks of Måneskin in 2021, the year their victory at Eurovision propelled them to the top of the world charts. Thanks to what Cerioni calls a «more brazen fashion,» brought to primetime by Lauro, Måneskin and other artists, «the perception of brands towards Sanremo has changed.» As the stylist recounts, fashion is conservative, although it passes as innovative, but projects like Me Ne Frego and Zitti e Buoni have encouraged its long-awaited reconciliation with the world of entertainment. A Festival veteran since 2008 - his first steps in the styling world took shape in the MTV dressing rooms - back when «being a stylist at Sanremo wasn't cool yet,» Cerioni has been able to closely observe the great transformation of television over the years, but he suggests to anyone aspiring to his job to start from studying. «For me, what makes a good stylist is creating an imaginary around an artist. What I recommend is to have a pop visual culture, which means having a clear vision of what's happening, but also having inspirations to draw from. It's culture that makes the difference.»

An artistic director rather than just a stylist, this year Cerioni signs the visual elements of Il Volo's new album, from the cover photo to their looks, a project with which he had almost complete carte blanche. «I started working with them a couple of years ago, they are a group that does impressive numbers, they are impeccable professionals,» says the stylist. «Il Volo we will see at Sanremo is a Volo 2.0, their new style is an evolution of them as men, as artists who have become great.» In addition to the trio, this year competing with "Capolavoro", Cerioni takes on a new challenge dressing the rising star Angelina Mango, at Sanremo with "La Noia". «She's someone who impressed me with her artistry, but above all with her determination,» he says. «It's nice to see someone so young, with so much talent, be so 'on fire'.» The artist's physicality and her ability to move on stage, characteristics that bring explosive energy to her performances, have been great sources of inspiration for her new stylist, an aspect that offers an extra insight into the common perception of female artists in Italy. Once a critical topic, today the sensuality of singers accompanies their voice just like any instrument. Along with Angelina Mango, Cerioni tells us, the Italian music scene is welcoming a new generation of performers who perform and expose themselves in a new way on stage, no longer objects of desire but holders of their own autonomy and narrative, from Elodie to Annalisa and Big Mama. «It's all part of an artistic project. That too is part of their art.» And that's where the paradox lies: the history of Italian television has been built on the work of costume designers and artists who have been able to make extravagance an art, but until the recent editions of the Festival, we had almost forgotten about it. «I grew up with musical myths of people whose image was as important as the music they made,» he recalls, citing Madonna in Gaultier's cone bra and Bowie in the Kansai Yamamoto suit. «I think our music scene is full of interesting artists who haven't used all the potential of their image. I'm not interested in whether an artist has the latest piece from a fashion show, what attracts me is when a look shocks me.» At Sanremo 2024, Cerioni's looks won't be conveying political messages, but everything, from the clues he has sown over the years to his latest statements, leads us to believe that this year too we will be left amazed.

Provocative and irreverent, the looks bearing Ramona Tabita's signature know how to leave a mark, on the red carpet as well as on the front page. Breaking loudly into the international scene thanks to collaborations with figures like Mariacarla Boscono and Simona Tabasco, Tabita's explosive energy has also reached overseas, styling boxing titan Mike Tyson. This Sanremo, we will see her return to work alongside Ghali for a project where she will be confronting the alien world, the culmination of an eight-year partnership now ready to debut on a new stage. Without a doubt, she tells us, what has propelled her career has been self-determination, a fundamental feeling for those starting out, having to face the skepticism of press offices and magazines. «When you start doing this job, press offices and magazines don't know you yet, the former ask for a pull letter, the latter require a certain portfolio,» says the stylist. «That's a phase everyone goes through, the secret is not to be demoralised, I have always believed in my vision,» she asserts, adding that besides talent, to do this job you need to keep your eyes fixed on a goal.

Even though Ghali's song title for Sanremo is "Casa Mia" (My Home), the universe we will see on the Ariston stage will be nothing short of extraterrestrial, with the song featuring the rapper dialoguing with an alien. Tabita has worked with her team and the style offices on a moodboard rich in stylistic codes linked to the space world, with some references to the "Smooth Criminal" star thrown in for good measure. «For Ghali's looks both on and off the stage, I was inspired by the Space Age, with references to his greatest muse and source of inspiration: Michael Jackson.» As the stylist anticipates, the result has produced a completely new style that, drawing from the past, evokes a futuristic and cutting-edge aesthetic. «Not being completely understood by everyone is beautiful too, that's the real freedom,» Tabita tells us, ready to shock the audience. «Just like his music, his style looks to the future,» she adds, «which perhaps today we could define as 'Ufo Core'.» With these premises, the collaboration between the two promises to be a stellar show.

For Pablo Patané, the backstage of the theatre is as familiar as the walls of home. His career has taken him from set and costume design student to celebrity stylist, dressing stars like Monica Bellucci, Sabrina Impacciatore, Skin, Rossy De Palma, and Nick Jonas. This week, he will be introducing the Sanremo audience to a completely new artistic project. «Creating the looks for La Sad at Sanremo was a journey through the history of punk, fashion, and cinema, drawn from the personal story of the singers and the lyrics of their song,» says the stylist, image curator for the trio competing with the single "Autodistruttivo" (Self-destructive). The looks, which in Patané's vocabulary are called costumes, «will be a key element of their performance.» Thanks tohis cinematic vision of fashion, Patané's stylistic signature stands out with an extremely theatrical flair. «Fashion for the sake of fashion,» he tells us, «I've never liked it.» Patané is landing in Sanremo after curating projects both in the United States and in Italy, from the artistic direction of the most well-known newspapers to styling Emmy-nominated stars. «I've never seen work as a competition, rather as an opportunity to create meaningful connections,» says the stylist. «Coming from the fashion world, I have extended my range of action thanks to collaborations. Tiny Idols introduced me to the group, considering me the most suitable person to follow them on this stage.»

Patané finds inspiration in the style of the stars who have marked the history of music, from the Sex Pistols (of which we might find some traces on the Ariston stage this year, thanks to the contemporary-punk spirit of La Sad) to Elton John and Grace Jones, the stylist recognises that the prominent artists of the past have reached the pinnacle of success precisely because they have been able to produce a perfect combination of image and sound, which for Patané is «a determining element that can transform a performer into an icon.» Fortunately, with La Sad it was possible to give free rein to imagination, and so was exploring new stylistic directions for the group, while maintaining a centred sense of what determines their authenticity. At Sanremo, we will see them flaunting twenty looks from emerging brands and prestigious names, a balance between opposites that on one hand will offer visibility to new names in Italian fashion, and on the other will "tarnish" with luxury a trio of punks outside the conventions of Sanremo. Patané assures that La Sad will be bringing a strong message to the stage, amplified, as the punk attitude requires, through color and above all through the element of surprise.

For some, dressing a star on the Ariston stage is the dream of a lifetime, for others it happens almost by chance. «Sanremo happened just like love does, when one least expects it,» says Rujana Cantoni, stylist for Rose Villain. A work she defines as «emotional and gut-driven,» the collaboration with the artist competing with "CLICK BOOM!" crowns a partnership that began several years ago. Dressing a singer, the stylist tells us, doesn't just mean creating an image and producing it, but also finding a meeting point between two very different artistic directions. For Cantoni, it entails helping them recognise themselves in a garment, so, unlike a photo shoot where creativity is univocal, it is essential to abandon all egocentrism. «In fashion, there's me and the photographer, in this case it's different,» she says, explaining how she approached Rose's universe. «Over time, I've learned to listen to her needs, to study her physique.» It's the chemistry that makes the artistic relationship between Rose and Cantoni a sincere project, a feeling of mutual understanding that in this edition of Sanremo will be showing a new side to her. «I feel more like a director,» says Cantoni, who finds in clothes a means to tell life stories. «She's a multifaceted woman, my inspiration is her personalities.»

Before starting to work as a celebrity stylist, Cantoni developed her talent in fashion publishing starting from the study of emerging brands. She realised she was a stylist on the set of a music video, when she noticed the impact of her looks on the success of the project. «From the beginning, I had a strong imprinting with research in all its forms,» she adds. «I became passionate about emerging designers because I wanted to do very eccentric things.» Dissatisfied with Italian fashion during the early years of her career, Cantoni is now happy with her decision to stay in Milan. «Why should I run away from this reality? I'd rather change the system myself,» she adds. As a big promoter of digital content, her work blends artificial intelligence and creativity without paying attention to the limits imposed by the Italian industry, according to the stylist a sector that is afraid to experiment with new technologies. «With 3D, you can create anything, it's like an underworld that is yet to be discovered by everyone,» she says, certain, however, that collaboration is the key to success, not the exasperation of a single medium, or a single point of view. Just like in love, «when a team works, in a world like ours, it always makes a difference.»

PABLO PATANÈ, RUJANA CANTONI & NICK CERIONI