The wedding dress influencer who digitized the industry
Who is Nicole Cavallo, creative director of Nicole Milano?
Nicole Cavallo, 26 years old and creative director of the wedding dress brand since 2019 Nicole Milano (a branch of the Spanish group Pronovias), reflected on this when she decided to use social media to communicate the bridal world in a different way, one that is more accessible to young people. For her 226,000 followers on Instagram, she creates video content, called reels, in which she reveals what any bride would like to know before the big day. In short, she acts as the bride's best friend, dispensing precious advice on choosing the right dress. With a decisive attitude, irony, and great passion. "As a child, I lived among wedding dresses: my mother (Alessandra Rinaudo, chief artistic director of the Pronovias group, editor's note) and my grandmother, an expert seamstress, always took me to the atelier. That's how I absorbed every secret of this world,” Nicole says. After spending a year in Vancouver, Canada, she decided to study Economics for Arts, Culture and Communication at Bocconi. “This choice allowed me to develop a broad vision of the fashion business from an economic and financial perspective and later proved to be helpful for the more creative side of my profession as well.”.
The coach of future brides
In 2019 she then became creative director of Nicole Milano, where she brought new ideas, mixing Italian tailoring with the latest bridal trends in step with the times. And this, in part, also thanks to social media, where in just a few years she has become a coach of future brides, for her ability to speak without filters: "I tell the story of a dream, a very aspirational moment, which is why many women love watching my content regardless of whether they're getting married or not. Beyond that, I think they appreciate the fact that I open the doors to a somewhat exclusive, perhaps elitist, world in a simpler and more genuine way, also describing the possible inconveniences of the big day.".
Of course, Nicole has collected countless anecdotes over the years: from last-minute torn zippers and angry animals that destroyed the dress to the wrong size at the last fitting. Not to mention the unusual requests, those made significantly late or deliberately pretentious: "Once we were asked to make a dress in two days because a bride dreamed of getting married in a colorful dress, but her family wouldn't allow it. So her fiancé decided to buy a colorful one at the last minute to make her happy." In these cases, what makes the difference is empathy with customers who, in the bridal world, can prove to be even more demanding than in any other fashion segment.
“"The world of wedding dresses is unique: the service and the physical experience in the atelier are crucial. The bride comes to the atelier expecting to experience something unforgettable. The empathy between the stylist (the person who advises on the most suitable dress, ed.) and the bride, and with those who accompany her, is fundamental." During the preparations, the bride stays in contact with the atelier for approximately nine months, during which many dynamics develop, both psychological and family-related, as well as physical. For this reason, one day for a creative director is never the same as the next.
“My work follows the seasonality events and collections. Some days can be very intense in front of the computer, answering emails and making lots of phone calls, while others are extremely creative when I'm in close contact with the product. What they have in common, however, is the creation of content on my social media channels and the work in team”.
