Episode 42 – Olimpia Zagnoli

This Way Up

For this episode, I spoke to Olimpia Zagnoli. An Italian illustrator known for her incredible bold, colourful and sometimes ‘naughty’ illustrative style. She is prolific, her work has featured everywhere from the cover of The New Yorker to the shopfronts of Uniqlo, to a series of illustrations for Prada and she even has her very own line of homeware. It is not just her style that stands out, it’s her witty observations and effective execution that makes her so recognisable.

What struck me during our conversation is her ‘Che palle’ as they say in Italian. Literally translated as ‘She’s got some balls’! Whether it was deciding to dress up as a punk in her conservative high school, to tracking down top Italian art directors home addresses in order to deliver her portfolio. Or deciding to leave everything behind for the bright lights of New York and getting work from editors of her favourite magazines. Finally and maybe my favourite story is when she got asked to work for Dior by its famous creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri and for deciding to abandon her fail-proof art direction to try something new and totally different - and of coursed it worked!

This for me encapsulates Olimpia. A great illustrator who not only has found her voice but isn’t afraid to use it and is now rightfully reaping the rewards.