Milan’s loss is Manila’s gain

He is a man of few words, so soft spoken, so humble that his art does the talking for him. As we browsed through the photos in his computer, we could see that this man has absolute control of the photography processes. Definitely, the extraordinary technical perfection of his photography is evident in his art. Throughout his long and prolific career, Gian Pierro Gastaldi has created a body of work, which has come to exemplify not only the purist approach to his medium but an example for many of his peers, the definitive pictorial statement of a fashion photographer. He has left his mark on the pages of Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, Marie Claire, Elle, Amici, Cosmopolitan and other European magazines. His avant garde approach to advertisements of Bulgari, Armani, Fiorucci, YSL, Benetton and Lancaster puts him on a plane above all others.Gian Pierro did not start his career as a photographer. He studied fine arts in Paris at the École Nationale Supérieur des Beaux-Arts. After graduation, he lived in Paris and worked at McCann Erickson as a creative director. While honing his skills at McCann, his passion for photography was too strong to neglect. Soon, he decided to quit McCann and became a full time fashion photographer. From the ’70s until the ’80s, he immersed himself in the Parisian fashion scene. Paris at that time was at fashion’s forefront, with exciting couturiers like Yves Saint Laurent, Emmanuel Ungaro and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel to mention a few, leading the field. Gian Pierro was actively doing their fashion shoots. During this era, before the age of digitalized virtual realities, he did the visual effects for his photos manually. Where does he get his ideas? He said that when he gets an assignment, his imagination creates a story line. Then he makes sure that the colors of the product blend with the background, the makeup and the model. "Everything has to be fresh. Nothing heavy. The product is a dream and I have to sell that dream through my pictures." Sometimes, he creates drama for a product, like when he conceptualized the burning of Rome during Nero’s time as background for a model in a green dress, with a small Walkman hanging down her front like a necklace and earphones. Historic Rome with its decadence up in flames serves as a counterpoint to modern technology, which has facilitated more decadence. His photos have shock value, the better to capture the consumer’s attention. His exaggerated attention to detail drives home a point. In 1986, Gian Pierro went back to his native Italy. Milan was now the center of gravity in fashion. Giorgio Armani, Versace and the classic Valentino were making waves in the fashion arena. He was met with constant challenges in his work. The fickleness of fashion demanded something new all the time, challenging his creativity to rise to the occasion each time. Seven years ago, he met Ye Young, a Korean teenager, in the streets of Milan. He asked her to model for him and, seeing her natural talent for fashion, encouraged her to study fashion and be a stylist. She successfully did and she and Gian Pierro became a team. With him as her mentor, she rose to the ranks and became fashion editor for Vogue Italia, a post she continues to hold today. Today, Milan’s loss is Manila’s gain. Gian Pierro is working as graphic consultant and fashion photographer for ABS-CBN’s many publications, working hand-in-hand with Thelma San Juan. Before this stint, he was also a fashion consultant for the different magazines of the Summit Group of Publications in Manila. Jeannie Goulbourn, Gian Pierro’s good friend, says that the staff of the Summit group of magazines looked up to him as their big daddy and called him Papa Gian P. Gian Pierro loves our country. He is looking forward to retiring in Palawan. With some Italian friends, he plans to buy an island near El Nido and build a big house. "Palawan is paradise. Thailand, which I also like as a country, has no place like El Nido. For me, this is my dream retirement place." Currently, Gian Pierro is enchanted with the Malate area and its bohemian lifestyle. He rents an apartment and plans to live here until he buys his island. "La dolce vita – that’s what is here and I love it!"

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