Oh, fashion. This world where trends change faster than you can blink, where one minute it’s oversized everything, and the next it’s “wait, never mind, we’re back to sleek and tailored.” And in this whirlwind? There are a few rare souls who somehow manage to capture something deeper—something timeless. Chiara Bardelli Nonino is one of those rare voices, the ones who don’t just follow the trends but actually define what ‘matters’. As the former photo editor for Vogue Italia and now working at Harper’s Bazaar Italia, she’s crafted a kind of visual language that speaks to what’s edgy and profound, what’s intimate and wildly universal, all in one breath. 

Chiara isn’t just curating images; she’s curating a whole perspective on fashion—a take that makes you stop and think (for once) about what you’re actually looking at. She’s out here, navigating that messy space where art and fashion collide, using her instinct like a compass. Her work? It’s storytelling wrapped in style, with an understanding that photography isn’t just pretty pictures; it’s this enormous, powerful tool that can make us rethink everything. 

With this interview we will try to dive deep into what makes her tick. We’re talking inspiration, style philosophy, and the way her past—the family, the places, the early obsessions—all come together to drive her work. We’ll get into her vision for the future, too, as the fashion world keeps morphing into something none of us can predict. Because Chiara Bardelli Nonino isn’t just shaping what we see; she’s inviting us to see fashion as a whole new way of understanding people, society, maybe even ourselves.

Where did you grow up, and how do you think your hometown influenced

your view on style or creativity?

 

I grew up in a small town in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a region in the North East of

Italy that borders Austria and Slovenia. I feel that growing up on a borderland

that has switched many different nationalities through the centuries has always

had a humbling effect on me: I felt that my identity was not so fixed or secure

and that sense of belonging I was yearning for had to be found in something

less arbitrary that a state – does it make sense? I think that when I was little I

found that in books: they were my refuge and my happy place. I guess the

choice was heavily influenced by my family organizing a literature prize, the

Nonino prize, that gave me the opportunity of meeting so many remarkable

artists and thinkers, like VS Naipaul, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Michael Pollan,

Fabiola Giannotti and Giorgio Parisi – and the lists goes on and on and on.

 

Who was your biggest role model growing up, and how did they influence

who you are today?

 

Hobbes of Calvin&Hobbes. I liked the idea of trying to understand human

nature through the eyes of another creature – in this case an anthropomorphic

tiger that may or may not have existed.

 

Did you have any early creative outlets or hobbies that led you toward a

career in fashion?

 

I must admit, with a tinge of embarrassment, that for a long time I considered

fashion to be a frivolous, minor endeavor. I now think that point of view was

thoroughly superficial, snobbish and pretentious, but it took me working with

Franca Sozzani to understand how wrong I was. It’s never too late to change

your mind on something, I guess.

 

What’s a book, movie, or TV show that you’ve rewatched more times than

you’d like to admit?

 

I want to reject the idea of guilty pleasures, so in no particular order here are

some things I’ve been obsessed by in the near and distant past : Alice by Jan

Švankmajer, Evangelion, H is for Hawks by Helen Macdonald, The Notebook

Trilogy by Ágota Kristóf, Emil Cioran aphorisms, Nana by Ai Yazawa, all the

Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park movies, The Life and Times of Scrooge

McDuck by Don Rosa, The Hunting Gun by Inoue Yasushi, Ant Colony by Michael

DeForge, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Black Books by Dylan Moran and

Graham Linehan…

 

Are you a collector of anything—whether it’s obvious like clothes or

something completely random?

 

I’ve always wanted to be a collector because I am fascinated by the compulsion

of collecting, but I’ve never managed to commit to something. My interests are

sudden, intense and volatile.

 

What’s the strangest job you had before working in fashion?

 

As every person with a family business can tell you, you get inevitably

swallowed up by it. I guess though doing grappa tastings in Brazil, China or New

Jersey could be strange enough seen from the outside?

 

What is the ‘one song’ that always gets you in the mood to create?

 

I did use a lot of “Music for Airports” when I had to write in a crowded

newsroom.

 

Who is one celebrity style icon you think deserves ‘less’ attention? (You

don’t need to answer if you want to be politically correct)

 

All of them. Celebrity culture is the most boring and the dullest drift in

contemporary fashion.

 

What qualities do you believe make a photographers’ work stand out in

today’s saturated market?

 

The urgency of their work. The heart. And being able to respect deadlines.

Can you tell us about a time when you had to make a difficult editorial

decision, and what you learned from it?

All the time you have to sacrifice the better picture for a better view of the

product. But I love this entanglement of fashion photography, the fact that it is

inherently ambiguous, that it does not hide the contradictions of its nature. I

learned to love that impossible balance of art and commerce, and that you

need to figure out how to thrive within the limits of the commission.

 

Who are some lesser-known photographers that you think deserve more

recognition?

 

I wouldn’t say they are lesser-known but for sure I would love to see more

fashion editorials by Hubert Crabières, Rachel Fleminger Hudson, Felipe Romero

Beltrán.

 

Can you describe a specific shoot or project that you’re particularly

proud of and why?

 

They might be the ones that to me had more social impact: the editorial on the

charity Skateistan in Afghanistan and the project celebrate the people of

Europe for L’Uomo Vogue, and the cover with paralympic athlete Veronica Yoko

Plebani lensed by Cho Gi-Seok.

 

How do you view the rise of AI Photography, and where do you see it

fitting within the industry? Should photographers embrace it?

 

The ethical conundrums surrounding the AI generative technology are of

course many, but if I had to just tackle it as an image-making tool, I would say

that it’s interesting when it makes sense for the project, either from a concept

point of view or a budget one – an emerging photographer will not have access

to high end outfits or outlandish sets, so it could make fantasy more accessible.

For PhotoVogue I curated an exhibition titled Uncanny Atlas that explored the

relationship between photography, reality and AI and I think that there you can

find some good examples of photographers with a nuanced visual language

that used AI in a compelling way.

 

Who is your ultimate photographer icon, and how have they influenced

your approach to fashion?

 

I don’t know if I would label him as my icon, but I’ve consistently loved the work

of Masahisa Fukase, from the backwards “family portraits” to the ravens. I guess

he influenced me in the sense that I strived to find a similar depth of field,

variety of themes and urgency paired with a consistent aesthetic.

 

If you could tell the world one thing about fashion that you wish more

people understood, what would it be?

 

That fashion is a powerful, pervasive and persuasive language and it can be

used to push much more than a mere commercial agenda. You can

communicate with a wide, varied audience on a very instinctive, immediate

level – so don’t take this opportunity lightly.

 

Attached is one of my favourite photos, which one would you choose?

 

I love Rovesciare i propri occhi (Reversing One’s Eyes) by Giuseppe Penone –

the simplicity and yet the depth and poetic symbolism of it.