Where do you look for new ideas or voices in fashion?
Twitter/X. Proud to say I’m an OG of “hftwt” (high fashion Twitter), which is how I got my first writing jobs. It’s full of strong voices, personalities, and ideas. You’ll see an opinion on something cross your feed and it’ll have you completely re-examining your relationship to the subject especially when it’s coming from maybe fresher eyes. Also, I’ve fully gotten into TikTok! I love watching people’s spirited analyses. It’s definitely influenced even how I make content.
Who or what is generating the greatest influence in fashion today?
I think the greatest influence in fashion today is the internet, for better and for worse. It changed the way we not only wear fashion, but how we speak about it, think about it, and consume it. There’s the speed of the trend and micro trend cycle; designers and brands trying to stay paced with it; then making sure there’s a viral moment to keep it at the top of the algorithm. The importance of reaching a global audience. Everything is revolving around trying to stay on our screens, to grab everyone’s attention in the brief few seconds before we scroll down. But also, the internet has been the great democratiser in fashion; it allowed people and ideas that may not, at one time, been able to find an “in” to do so. It’s a double-edged sword.
When was the last time you marvelled over something in fashion?
Watching the Prada Fall 2025 show. Prada’s like this unwavering anchor in a storm. The world may be perpetually on the verge of falling apart, but you can always rely on Prada to make you pause and appreciate the vision.
Tell us a surprising story about how you got to where you are today?
Not many people know that I was in the US Navy 15 years. When I was stationed in the south of Italy, I was going on side quests to Milan on the weekends to hang out with my Italian internet friends and living this whole double life. Friday mornings, I was Seaman Pisano plugging away on my computer on the ship, and by that night I’d be running all over Milan in the early 2010s: cocktail in one hand, Blackberry in the other, tweeting away, networking and partying – excited to recount the weekend on my blog. All of which caught the attention of a PR who gave me a job doing the door at her parties, events and producing for her social media after I left the Navy.
There seems to be more overlap between fashion/entertainment and fashion/sports than ever. Thoughts?
Like I was saying, the internet changed everything. We’re seeing people who may not have cared before realising the power fashion plays in how people perceive us, and in an age when everyone’s image is beamed out to millions of screens all day long. Also, everyone is understanding that to really succeed in the era of social media, you need to be a brand and a great way to do that is to communicate who you are via style. An example I’m really loving right now is how WNBA players leaned into it with their tunnel fits. Also, how Law Roach and Zendaya use red carpets to tell a story, which is especially important as algorithms flatten culture.
Can you share a mantra for the coming year?
There’s this quote from Star Wars: “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” So yea, making sure to stay on track, stay organized, and stay motivated. And to keep in mind exactly where I want to go. The world is crazy these days. I need to be my own calm in the storm.
This interview has been lightly edited.
