Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to another S&T meetup where we meet with some of the most interesting people in the luxury space and today we're going to be actually bringing someone quite different from the guests that we usually bring in and for that we're going to have Marco Castelli he's actually a model and fashion designer from Italy very well known he's been working on some incredible projects and in his own collection. Hey! How are you doing? I'm doing very good are you?
Very amazing, where in Italy are you? I don't know I'm for Sito Notel in Milan just my favorite spots I just arrived from my travels so I'm very happy and excited to see you. Over you. I'm doing phenomenal thank you so much and look you're always somewhere I thought I traveled a lot but you're always somewhere else.
We are in the same vibe we are in the same vibe. What are you coming to Miami? I really hope soon maybe for that battle in December so we're gonna meet up for sure. Yes it's the best time to come to Miami for sure.
Yeah. Now tell us Marco I mean you are more passionate designers you came with your own line so this is a whole not serious lifestyle that you're living and the industry itself or fashion is so fascinating so tell us a little bit about what is it that you're currently working on so passionate. Okay so let me let me begin from my beginning okay so I started modeling 14 years ago by a chance because a guy was stopping me on my work I was a Bay Watchers I was a lifeguard at the moment and the guy came up to me and say hey how are you what's your name? Is it Marco?
So you know what I'm working for this brand I would like to have you on the show. In the beginning I was thinking it's a joke you know but then they said oh look it's a simple series it's a big show come over so I visited the place I met them and they're fitting for the first time and they're on the show and by after actually the agency's in Milan was calling me and say hi we are working in Milan you know we like to have you in our agency so I started from there and yeah became more than go right after like six seven months I started to do big campaigns with John Tancrofer I don't know if you know this brand but it was very huge in Milan and by after actually my first day was in New York but it was my second city and I was starting to work there for Fashion Week and I was doing a lot of fashion show around working with many brands like Penielis, LaCosta and blah blah blah blah then I was back to Milan where I was shot for Loma Vogue and after Vogue I did Cosmopolitan different campaigns with the shipping company Cornelliani Chanel in Paris started to work with very many big brands but after when I was in New York I was at the ambassador for the first time so because it was the era of you know social media because I was in LA I was working with an agency that's called Star II Management and I was ever the fortune to work with John Barbados and Flint in Miami actually because I was also in Miami I was shot in there with Flint and Cosmopolitan and this brand from St. Glasses was approached me and I was bringing them from New York to Milan where I was opened them a different business and by that I was start to thinking okay maybe I want to do something by myself and I was start to be on myself a bespoke okay so I was always going to the Taylor in Italy in a very small shop very nice in Italy and I was start to create my own claudings I was traveling with this you know new claudings and actually with my troubles I was meeting many people asking me oh wow you know what I like your jacket I like your you know your coat and actually sadly doing a shooting in Milan it approached me in a person and tell me oh wow you know they like your coat but we can buy it and say look this is my creation you know it's my first piece and he came up with this little shop and he bought like five coats and from there I started the business and with these clients we was working for three years and then actually they invited me to go to Doha where I did a special meeting with them and then by then I was meeting different people they said why don't come here we can do a special project together you know we can do something and I was start to do a lecture with Virginia Gungwett University in Qatar where with a friend of mine I was introduced me the teacher there and I was talking with all this beautiful soul of people but we're gonna we was I was talking about my story about my experience in fashion with the brands and then they say look what we like to do for you a pop up for for seven days plus one month in five stations five stations you know but it's a very good concept where all designers like Balman and the many brands do events there and when I opened this beautiful pop up in only seven days I did the sold out for a little action yeah it was amazing so seven days all gone so people was really excited and class we did some bespoke collection there so by after I was come back to Milan and actually was talking about 2019 okay and during covid I said oh my god you know everything is stopping now what I do so yeah done oh my god the b-z-r-like wow you know like the escalation of my career as modeling because you know working with Chanel with a Bentley with many brands you know watch brands like I did very much and the brands also was see that we start to get a brand identity so it went very well so by then I was closing the house okay what we do everyone was starting to get this mask and actually I stayed on and I was thinking to create a paint I would add a paint and this paint I was called a reward because I was I do a mask with a kacha I don't know if you know the kacha a kacha I have a symbol that you can bend but you can break okay so it's a symbology meaning and then from this paint a friend of mine say from from Middle East his name is Basha is it Michael why you don't do for me the mask and send me to Kuwait I said look at that I said okay so I did the sample with Alina that she's my girlfriend and they say because actually she don't wear my girlfriend because it was me because she's a dyer but we were start to date during the covid and she said you know what Michael I can suffer you and you're like so we started then I was go from my little home to air home I was to produce a mask for you know for Kuwaiti every start to produce and then I was to some pictures in a home with my ring lights you know and people suddenly was falling off yeah also because before I start to solve them I was create a partnership with Amin Chidesh and traffic because I don't know if you know about to do a society project because I really love the charity and this charity in Africa that we have a foundation I saw you are very involved there yes and this foundation actually existing since 21 years and I said you know what because I have PR from Chennai was that look Michael we have this project and we would like you to have part of it okay you know what I do this mask a for each mask who I saw I give you something so we go to the dealing and then I started the communication on Instagram and you know what like in then we saw the modern Twitter's mask in maybe yeah maybe in only two months and then I was running like to shoot for this mask all over the world you know he went in Qatar in Kuwait Dubai Singapore Japan Nashville Paris everywhere like it was crazy like all people was calling me about this mask and it was amazing and also the meaning the fact that we put out both a little bit in order to beat the kids in Africa was amazing and you know and then from Rina Shita so from the Khazar bird then you know I was stuck to project also some t-shirts and then now after COVID you know many projects coming and actually back to the charity project on 19 we do a very beautiful Gala dinner in Viladeste in Lake of Koma and actually I'm telling you officially you are super invited I want to tell you before but okay during an interview you can be really our guests it's very nice there is coming a lot of not of this celebrity but also people that are really involved on a charity project somebody if you have to recommend how you started to build your personal brand what will be the first step okay the first the first thing it's always to go with your own personality with your own taste it's not so simple to create a personal brand because it's a work it's a daily work and it's also patient because my luck is that I'm very passionate what I do I love my work do you touch the video a lot to reach out to people or it's about attending events what would be the best way to build this powerhouse okay it's a very great question question because Instagram's social is one thing right so because there is people writing you what they want to meet you about that but I think it's very important when you meet people here you can feel the energy right because when you know how to mix them you know they mix the perfect mix the perfect match what's been the hardest thing that you had to face about the user from it the first thing is that I was to choose right to go away from my family because I'm from Sicily so a big family to brothers and sisters and you know since 14 years of this I understood that after 14 years you know I see my grandmother holder my grandfather holder you know my mom I can see that I don't see them very often the reality is that I miss them you know in the daily life and then when you look back to the wow now I'm here you know I bought the house of Madrid I make this money I made this you know I have a good standard of life but then I always think but you know I miss some part of my life back there so what I'm learning now is it's very important to balance it to focus not only to what you love money no okay because not about money also it's not about money but to focus on people to help people how do you sell yourself it's the way to sell it's not when we talk about luxury you know like people say oh you know you work a luxury you wear this watch or you would have this car or you're this house people thinking everything about money but no I think the real luxury the real sell you make when your vibration for your energy is connect with the universe because then it's like I like to say no to sell but to attract abundance that is different I like because the abundance in our life is sold out money love you know many things and I call it abundance that's why I'm very happy what to do because what I try to attract every day I'm not perfect man because I do my mistakes I want to attract abundance that for me that abundance are people so wrong me of course family number one you know money because I mean money but especially especially the cycle of my life because in the end when you have the right side there are people you need money you know what I mean it's funny but it's really like that in the end like this that's why I love to give that's why I like to go to Africa to go to the skis stay with them take a photo with them you know also because remember we built a school zero from 18 years old and we have 3,000 kids man 3,000 kids okay oh wow and we built sorry do you see me okay we built two schools and we teach them medical and we teach them how to sell like jackets so saftoria okay and also and we send the teachers from here to there to teach them of course then you know in 2000 kids of course there is someone that's you see that have big potential even we find a potential guy or girl we send to Milan to do a university here so we give them an opportunity you know because education education is a reality of the foundation education and progress that's what they need really big money you know because all the money we collect is to out they're not only for the food they're for drinking no and not to give them money but we need to have we need to pay teachers school you know to build what is actually like to do it's a very okay for me actually is freedom freedom is my luxury because you know today I was work all day but I feel like I'm not working you know it's like it's funny to say but this is a luxury thank you also for limitation I cannot wait to see you whether it's in europe if you come to Miami for a month or a month or a month or a month or a month or a month or a month or a month or a month or a month and work as a good stuff together yeah of course now we send you the invitation okay so you are totally free to come and number one really if it's possible I would like to introduce you good people good people in the hallway because I think it's very important to connect and I feel also the same energy with you that's why I wanted to do the interview with you because so you are doing the very great things and I'm very happy thank you no I appreciate it Marco thank you for your time good luck with everything and vice versa you know it's anything we can do to help or support you you can always do like a tranquial in one of our houses here or anything that we can do to support and do we're here for that okay thank you so much man all right Marco peace bye turgan and thanks again for everybody tuning in today we hope you enjoyed it and remember embrace it's beautiful success in life my name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time