Mariacarla Boscono

Mysterious, dark and cerebral, infatuated with travelling and addicted to vintage, the top model Mariacarla Boscono, Riccardo Tisci's muse, is known in the business for her strong personality, her constant good humor, and her electro-rock charm.

At 26, this Italian beauty began in the 2000s and has lost nothing of her charismatic aura that rapidly made her a top model. During the spring/summer 2008 fashion weeks, she opened several high-profile shows, e.g. Yves Saint-Laurent, Hermès, Etro, Missoni and Givenchy.

More Antigone than Ismene, Boscono never dreamed of a life on the catwalks. Her thin, almost skinny body and her moon-shaped face were not considered pretty by others who nicknamed her Olive. She grew up having absolutely no idea of the potential beauty she concealed.

Boscono was born on September 20, 1980. Her Italian parents were living in Thailand but decided to return home so that their daughter would be born in Rome. Her father's work led them all over the world, and as a result, Boscono took her first steps in the U.S. where she lived for several years. Later, her parents returned to Italy so that she could get to know her roots, then moved to Africa when she was nine.

Boscono spent a part of her adolescence in an immense house near Mobasa. Her time in Africa, fantastic, exotic, and unique, deeply influenced her. She compensated her loneliness by adopting a little dog and an iguana.

She did not return to Rome until she was 17. This was a difficult time for her. She hid herself behind a gothic look and tried to overcome the teasing she suffered from those who made fun of her height, lankiness and pale face. At a dinner, when a photographer friend of her parents offered to take some photos of her, Boscono thought he was making fun of her. She began by refusing; however, her mother, who believed in her, pushed her to contact him.

Her mother sent the photos to different agencies. Meanwhile, Boscono worked on getting over her adolescent anxieties and improving her self confidence, all this with the help of her mother who taught her daughter how to develop her own look, grow intellectually, and have confidence in herself.

From this moment on, Boscono began to listen to her own desires and created her own style, made up of vintage dresses and fantastical outfits found in second hand stores in Rome or London. She sought clothes that had a past, a story, then reinterpreted them in her own way - a bit electro-rock, but always elegant. She particularly liked to choose an evening dress from the 1950s or even take one from her mother's trunks and wear it during the day with stockings and thick sweater.

The photos sent by her mother attracted the agencies' attention and Boscono began her career on the Milan catwalks. Her jerky walking style became her trademark and made her easily recognizable. Boscono arrived in the world of modeling inadvertently, and furthermore, without any preparation: she did not have a book, nor photos to present to the agencies after the Milan shows. Piero Piazzi, the photographer-booker who worked with Naomi Campbell, decided to take her under his wing and opened the door for her to the modeling Holy Grail.

In 2000, Boscono's face began to attract attention. Her intellectual aura and diaphanous silhouette indicated a shining future for her. She finished her studies and decided to visit New York in order to find more work; she never left. She found something special in the City's effervescence, an energy that matched her perfectly and gave her what she needed to bloom. She found an agency, DNA, with whom she felt good working.

Since then, she lives each day like a new discovery. She is no longer nervous about castings, seeing them more as an opportunity to meet new people and broaden her horizons. She tries to seize everything that happens around her, to learn and understand everything she can because life is too short.

She knows she is lucky and tries to communicate this by being in a good mood and kind to those around her. She never leaves a photo session without having thanked the technicians and others who worked behind the scene. She has become a model who stands out, and is well-liked in the business.

Moreover, her ability to incarnate multiple emotions and to change according to the designers' desires, led her to land four major ad campaigns in 2001: Chanel, Armani, Calvin Klein and Roberto Cavalli. In 2002, she appeared in more shows as well as posed for Dior, DKNY, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lagerfeld, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Moschino and Versace.

Since 1997, she has been Riccardo Tisci's friend and muse. The Givenchy designer quickly fell under her charm, and for over 10 years, their chemistry has never failed. Boscono was the face of Givenchy for their 2005 ad campaign. The same year, she replaced Kate Moss for the H&M campaign.

The slender and beautiful Italian is present every season in a plethora of shows. She also manages to cultivate her personal life that includes cooking for her friends, reading, and the theater. She has also decided to take acting classes and has shown a real talent. In 2006, she played Solange in Jean Genet's "Les Bonnes."

The little shy girl from Africa has turned into a young woman whose every appearance is a surprise. She bleaches her hair platinum or completely changes her look depending on her mood, extravagant but never trashy, and always elegant. The "oddball" as she has been nicknamed, likes bohemian looks, vintage costumes and anachronistic associations. The Roman second hand stores know her well now, and regularly put aside their prettiest pieces for her. The only thing that she buys new is her shoes: Manolo Blahnik, Lanvin and YSL.

Besides her passion for the theater, cooking and vintage, Boscono is a veritable globe-trotter. Her childhood predisposed her to a travel bug that has stayed with her. She has crossed Vietnam and Mongolia, all the while finding used clothes. In these countries, she says, you do not buy a skirt in a boutique, but rather off the person who had worn or made it.

Boscono still lives in New York where she manages her career like a pro. It has been more than seven years since she has become a top model, all the while living each day as it comes.