An Exclusive Conversation with Supermodel, Davide Giliberti

Giliberti is currently the face of True Religion's Brand Jeans, along with other high end designers including Emporio Armani, Paul Smith, and even Romeo Gigli. He has traveled the world and worked in more than 15 countries, and his success is only going upward from here.

Hi Davide, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Let's dive right in: How did the "Go Red" True Religion Campaign change things for you?

Hi, and thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. True Religion was actually one of the very first brands from the US to pick me. The True Religion campaign helped me begin my career in the United States. Since then, I've been having a lot of success with American designers and shows. I was just part of Los Angeles Fashion Week, where I modeled designs from Kevin Evans and Jonathan Marc Stein.

Your career has changed a lot since its early days, and it continues to change with each coming year. How have you managed to have such a long-lasting career over the years?

Here's a secret: I've been lucky. When I first started my career, it was with already famous designers like Paul Smith, Emporio Armani, and Ferrè. Working with those designers gave me a lot of exposure and great contacts and networking in the industry.

So, you have a degree in Industrial Engineering of Logistic and Production--in addition to your Acting diploma. Why did you decide that you weren't interested in following a career in engineering or specifically acting?

If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that you don't know what you want until you have actually experienced it. I actually had a taste of modeling in 2001 when I competed at the Elite Model Look 2001. But even at that time I didn't think I would model as a career and was intending to be an engineer, which I accomplished while living in Milan. But after some modeling success, I decided that in order to be truly successful in the modeling industry, you have to make it a career, so I switched gears. While acting isn’t my main focus, I am working on developing an acting career.

You were the first foreign model to walk the Lakme India Fashion week. Can you tell us more about that? And could you tell us about a funny moment in your career?

In 2010, my manager got a call from Manish Malhotra, one of the most famous Indian designers, who wanted me to work with him. It was such a unique experience because Indian fashion designs are so original. I think people were surprised to see a foreign model wearing these traditionally inspired Indian designs.

As for a funny moment. When I was doing a campaign for Emporio Armani, they wanted me to dress up like "Spock" from Star Trek. They attached the pointy ear prosthesis to me, and I looked in the mirror and had to say that famous line: Live long and prosper. It wasn't just amusing though--I've since carried those words with me and applied them to my career.