May 19, 2005

Beat Bolliger Globe Trotting

By JC Report

There’s a new crop of global navigators, talented people simultaneously living and working in multiple cities, who provide their services to an international client list while taking inspiration from the world. They’re living fearlessly and are helping to shape sensibilities at an intersection where cultures cross-pollinate and distinct regional identity become less clear. Beat Bolliger fits the bill of this modern trailblazer. A Swiss native, Bolliger speaks four languages (German, French, English and Italian) and lives between New York and Paris. Working as a stylist, Bolliger is a frequent collaborator to photographers Ines Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Mario Testino and Terry Richardson. He is the fashion editor-at-large for V magazine and regularly contributes to Nippon and L’Uomo Vogue magazines and travels frequently to far flung destinations to work with clients that include Yves-Saint Rive Gauche, Zara, and Calvin Klein. Catching up with Jason Campbell in New York, Bolliger chats about the benefits of his international addresses, what this frenetic lifestyle says about our generation, and the upside for his clients.

JCR: Fashion has always been a global affair but it’s no longer just about going to exotic locations to conduct photoshoots. Talents like you are seamlessly working without the pesky boundaries of country — what’s happening?

BB: I think one of the main reasons for this global navigating is that fashion today has opened itself up to a much wider audience. We live in a magazine culture that’s worldwide and one that addresses a diverse readership. Foreign language magazines are sold all over the world and there are no more boundaries of country for content. The music scene is definitely influencing and pushing the market as well. It influences a worldwide audience and musicians are high profile consumers of fashion. All of these different markets and factors are feeding the global behemoth of fashion and it’s a large animal to feed.

JCR: Is it about staying atop the trends?

BB: Sure. Trends just mean the general directions in which things tend to move, and since we are moving a lot it surely helps to stay current.

JCR: Work obviously affects where you travel to but you’re also traveling to gather inspiration. Do you find that you have to touch down in several cities at least every couple months to keep the well of inspiration from drying up and to maintain relationships?

BB: I do feel that I have to travel to feel different energy and inspiration from different cultures. If I stay more then two months in the same city I start to feel a little achy, and need to start traveling again.

JCR: Do clients value your worldly exposure? Speaking several languages of course doesn’t hurt.

BB: Sure. I think it’s always comforting to have someone in front of you that knows what’s going on in different parts of the world.

JCR: Is there a certain restlessness in our generation that accounts for some of this global navigation?

BB: I think one of the keywords for our generation is FAST, FASTER. So that explains it by itself. Also, the fact that traveling today is easier and much cheaper than it used to be is a key factor.

JCR: Do you think different parts of the world are growing with similar identities? Is what’s going on in Milan very similar to happenings in Los Angeles, for example or does it remain distinctly different?

BB: The beauty is that the identities are still very different from city to city. The streets are talking different languages.

JCR: What region is the most important fashion influence coming from?

BB: There is not just one important region. For me it’s the regions with the richest cultures and history. In saying that though, the regions with thick ethnic influences have been very influential in recent seasons.

JCR: What’s your pick for the next emerging markets?

BB: China.

JCR: There’s a shift taking place now, talents are increasing working more out of New York’

BB: Cause it’s cute! And it seems that it’s the city that still doesn’t sleep.

Photos: Bolliger’s styling
Janet Jackson, V magazine
Hillary Swank, NY Times
Sarah Jessica Parker, Life magazine
V Man
V magazine
Victor & Rolf Ad