What Could Nicola Formichetti Do for a Beauty Giant Like MAC?

Few can boast a résumé as kaleidoscopic as his. One foot in fashion, another in branding and pop culture, and seemingly a dozen hands transforming all he touches into something new, strange, and urgent. The same Formichetti who dressed Gaga in meat has led creative and editorial teams at top fashion houses and publications, plus founded irreverent streetwear label Nicopanda. With this extensive fashion pedigree, we ask: what can he do for a beauty giant like MAC?

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To answer that, it helps to revisit said résumé. As Creative Director at V Magazine, he helped strip down the gloss with layouts that mirrored the moodboards of their coolest readers. At Vogue Hommes Japan, he pushes a new kind of male gaze: hyper-styled, pop-leaning, and arguably more radical. 

Then came the big houses. As Artistic Director of Mugler, he gave the brand a pulse again, injecting new life through collaborations with Lady Gaga and the late “Zombie Man” Rick Genest. He once called his proudest achievement: making Mugler matter again to a younger audience.

At Diesel, he reformed the label into something fit for the algorithm age, turning the likes of dusty denim into viral campaigns. Even Uniqlo, famously buttoned up and bland, let his creative direction stretch his global voice and make normcore feel like a genre worth watching.

Yet, stripped down, he’s always been a stylist. Dressing up Gaga in meat slabs was the appetizer to all the wild feasts he’s served across the fashion brands and magazines, from Haus of Gaga to Dazed. You see it, too, in his fashion and lifestyle brand Nicopanda, which reads camp, gender-bending, and playful. 

This isn’t his first beauty rodeo. Years ago, he helmed a MAC VIVA GLAM campaign and co-designed a bright Nicopanda capsule, proving early on that he knew how to translate his artistic vision into product. 

The appointment might even seem risky to a few; he’s a fashion guy, after all. But this might be exactly the point. Maybe MAC wasn’t looking for a product development expert or a legacy makeup artist (it likely has those in spades). Instead, they hand the keys to a fashion disruptor who’s more interested in the brand’s culture than just its contour. 

MAC was once the go-to for stage makeup and club culture. Recently, it got quieter, safer, and algorithmically prettier. Bringing in Formichetti is less about returning to roots and more about uprooting the whole thing again.

It’s a gamble. But then again, he tends to win those.

Featured Image and Photos: MATTHEW BROOKES and NICOLA FORMICHETTI, NICOPANDA (via Instagram), NICOLA FORMICHETTI (via website), FULANO DE TOWN, POP CULTURE GAL (via X), DIESEL