Does Nicola Formichetti Hate Old People? Or Has the Media Turned On Him?

It's odd but the latest media trend -- and yes, we realize this is nothing new and has been said before -- is to find some budding, new, talent --someone who has the potential and talent to be a huge success in their field of choice -- and then create a fevered buzz around them only to then turn their back on them and point out each and every misstep they make -- just for the sake of having news, it would seem. We've seen this kind of backlash before, but now the tsk-tsking is focused on Nicola Formichetti. While at first he was hailed as one of an elite group of tireless creative forces fueling the fashion industry (in no small part due to the fact that he is largely responsible for much of Lady Gaga's mind-bending outfits) lately reports are surfacing that he's saying some not-so-nice things. While relatively young, Formichetti already has a long list of accomplishments, serving as contributing stylist and fashion director to many international magazines, ad campaigns and recently took over the revived brand Mugler. But a recent W Magazine article quotes him saying he walked off a shoot when he saw the models were fat. Formichetti says he was misquoted, but W has stuck to their guns.

Just as that had all pretty much blown over now the Daily Mail is reporting that the stylist is now going after old people. They claim that he told Elle UK: "I think old people should just be old and go away. It's not about being in the industry for ten years anymore: it's about good ideas." Pretty harsh words, but again, these could just be sound bytes taken out of context. People tend to forget hearing something in-person versus seeing something in print construes two totally different, sometimes even diametrically opposed, connotations. A playful joke, when written in black text on a magazine page with no mention of it's jocular intent, can transform a message completely. Now we obviously weren't there for either interview, but we've seen him on film many times and he can be as arch and camp as the next gay boy -- and if every catty barb we (or you, for that matter) ever said, -- even in jest -- were to be written down and published, well, you'd better believe we'd be in heaps of trouble.