an interview with francesca cristini

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across Cherry Mag, the online magazine created by Italian 22-year-old, Francesca Cristini. I found her Instagram while exploring my feed one day, and I was instantly hooked. Her aesthetic was both visually pleasing and intriguing. I discovered that her online magazine was more than just a collection of blog posts. She has collaborated with several international brands, creates mood boards for inspiration, and gives personal insight on different things she has discovered. For only starting Cherry Mag in January 2016, she has nearly 10k followers on Instagram and is building her brand each day. She was kind enough to agree to do an interview with me! Read below for the full interview.

Jenna: What made you decide to start Cherry Mag?

Francesca: I decided to start Cherry Mag right after I was forced to quit my “ordinary” job due to the crisis. Fashion has always been a very important part of my life (you can find more about my story here), I created this blog to live my dream. I founded the blog mainly because I had the need to share my point of view, to finally express myself. I’m a shy girl and even if someone tried to “repress” my passion in the past now I’m here.

Jenna: How would you describe Cherry Mag, and how did you build your brand?

Francesca: Cherry Mag was born as a magazine. At the beginning the blog hosted fashion, beauty and tech articles for both women and men. Then brands started to ask me to post some pics wearing their pieces and here I am. We renewed the blog last September with a completely new graphic and contents. The man section is now “silent” but we’re working on it (new year, new projects!). I’m so proud of our cool hunting section, I’m constantly looking for new talents and interesting brands all over the world (mostly run by girls!). At the moment, I’m my own brand.

Jenna: How have you done so many collaborations with brands, can you describe the process? Did they reach out to you or did you reach out to them?

Francesca: At the beginning we started asking brands if they were willing to be shown on the blog but after only two months we received the first requests. Sometimes you ask, sometimes they ask. Plus, there are some good platforms that help us doing it!

Jenna: Where do you get your inspiration from for your mood boards?

Francesca: #MOOD is going to change. There will be no more articles but a continuous stream of consciousness with all my inspirations. Anyway, the mood boards consist in putting together all the things that obsessed me during the week. I’m an avid reader, I love art, music, so you just have to put together all those influences and find out what is the real theme.

Jenna: What current aspects from Italian culture and other cultures do you incorporate into your own personal style?

Francesca: Must be honest, I do not feel so Italian in terms of style. I’m more natural and instinctive. Italians women are often “calculeted”: perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect clothes. I think this is so unnatural and boring, be more daring. But do not worry, there is something that makes me feel Italian: lipstick and pearl earrings! I love French women: they’re so genuine, their “wild” hair, how they put together a pair of jeans and a blazer, they always look so feminine, cool and a little bit sexy!

Jenna: What are some of your favorite Italian brands/brands in general?

Francesca: Miuccia Prada is definitely my fave Italian designer: love how she can combine that “Italian style” with a little bit of drama for Prada, but her Miu Miu creations are my weak point. Other Italian designers I love are: Marco de Vincenzo, Antonio Marras, Giorgio Armani, Luisa Beccaria, Donatella Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Alessandro Dell’Acqua.. “Foreign” brands: Carven, Isabel Marant, Dior, Ann Demeulemeester, Barbara Bui, Pascal Millet, Off-White, Jacquemes, Saint Laurent, Rochas, Roksanda, Simone Rocha, J.W. Anderson, Mother of Pearl, Delpozo, Vera Wang, Rodarte, Carolina Herrera, Oscar De La Renta, DKNY, Proenza Schouler. Ok, need to stop because I can’t stop!

Jenna: How do you feel about the current nature of the modeling industry?

Francesca: It models? If I have to choose, I’ll go for Bella Hadid. But I think in the industry there are a lot of interesting girls: Daphne Groeneveld, Frederikke Sofie, Vittoria Ceretti, Marine Deleeuw, Grace Elizabeth.. You just have to go beyond that “famous crew” and notice that are plenty of interesting “faces” out there.

Jenna: How do you think independent fashion blogging will effect the role of major fashion publications in the future?

Francesca: I do not think that fashion bloggers will substitute fashion publications. I’m a blogger and I love reading fashion magazines, I probably have more subscriptions than a normal person. Fashion magazines make you dream, bloggers mainly show you what they wore and sometimes they tell you why they wore something, basically they inspire you, there are tons of bloggers but a few are the ones who can compete with an editor. I just think that bloggers should be more “cultered” to prove they are more than a pretty “mannequin”. Fashion is not only glamour, behind fashion there is a lot of (hard) work, you should read fashion publications and start “studying”!

Jenna: Do you currently go to school for fashion? Have you ever or do you want to at all?

Francesca: Unfortunately I didn’t go to a fashion school, I’m doing all by myself. If I will have the chance of doing it in the future, why not?

Jenna: Describe a typical day in your life.

Francesca: I wake up at 7:30 in the morning, have a little breakfast, sometimes I do a little and easy Yoga session and then start to work (emails, posts, photos, readings, etc.). I have lunch with my family (that’s so Italian!) and again I work. I work out three times a week and when I want to relax myself I start cooking! My evenings are basically divided into readings, movies, binge watching Netflix series, boyfriend and friends!

Jenna: How long does it take you to compose a post for Cherry Mag?

Francesca: It depends on the article I’m writing: more or less 2/3 hours (but again, there are posts that need more time to be written), plus add the time we need to take all the photos.

Jenna: Are there other collaborators for Cherry Mag or is it mainly just you?

Francesca: After almost one year of Cherry Mag, I can say that I do it all by myself and now it’s getting harder. My boyfriend, who’s a web designer and developer, works on the “technical” background and shoots my looks!

Jenna: Who have you not worked with yet that you would like to work with?

Francesca: In addition to my dream brands (question n.6), I’m open to work with all the brilliant minds out there.

Jenna: What are your goals for the future?

Francesca: Continue my fashion evolution, learn more and more about the fashion industry, develop the blog. I have some secret wishes: all I can say is that I’ll need to work hard to finally have what I’ve been dreaming all of my life!

Check out Francesca's online magazine: Cherry Mag

& her glorious Instagram!