Charla CAPONI

1. What was your very first job? 
My very first job in the industry was Oscar de la Renta in NYC.

2. Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails.
As the Vice President of Brand, Content, and Community my mandate is to be a great storyteller, inspire our community to engage with the world outside, and create brand love and a sense of belonging in a community for people who have similar ideals of connecting with the world and the other beyond their limits. I lead the global brand strategy, I build a community of loyalists to engage with, reward and retain, and spearhead the creation of best-in-class global campaigns that drive awareness, affinity and an emotional connection to our brand.

3. How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? Was there a train of events that brought you where you are today?
I discovered the creative world was right for me when I studied abroad at Temple University in Rome in the mid-’90s. My year-long experience surrounded by Art students, walking the streets of Via Condotti to Trastevere, changed me forever. It opened up my mind, body, and soul to a new, vibrant, and utterly different world. It was there that I fell in love with a brand that I had never heard of, Diesel. When I finally moved to NYC 5 years later, I did everything possible to work for them. From there, I was fortunate enough to work alongside some of the most talented Creative Directors both in house and externally from Wilbert Das, Nicola Formichetti, Andrea Rosso, Jefferson Hack, Rankin, Nick Knight, Ines & Vinoodh, and many others. After all these years, I have realized I am not satisfied if I’m not producing work with a group of like-minded creative individuals.

4. In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant?
I draw inspiration from my creative team, agency partners, and fellow peers in the industry. I am continually connecting with new and old faces that I have met along the way to keep up with the local cultural zeitgeist. I also read a lot, do research, and surround myself with younger cohorts, which helps keep me updated on what’s trending.

5. If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation rather than its recognition or industry "success" what would it be?
It is hard to pick just one. I would have to say Diese x Edun. We partnered for two seasons with Bono's wife's brand Edun where we sourced all of the materials for the denim collection in Africa. We shot in Africa and supported cotton framers who were mostly women. It was a life-changing experience. How we brought the campaign to life was even more incredible with events, digital innovation, partnering with OkayAfrica out of Brooklyn, MyBeautiful City in the UK, Solange Knowles and so on and so on. We put the talent at the forefront of the campaign and told their stories creatively in their own words.

6. Which creative disciplines do you commission most, and are most interested in seeing moreof and why? Which of these disciplines are you most interested in seeing at CONNECTIONS? (ie photo, film, production, social, experiential, vr, cgi, animation etc)
Lately, our focus has been on creating social first content and commissioning animation artists. In fact, our last two campaigns were CGI. We also continue to produce short form video to highlight our performance luxury credentials.