Read the translation of Vogue Italia’s article and interview with Damiano below:
Damiano David on the cover of Vogue Italia January 2025—shot by Steven Klein—shares in this exclusive interview his life in Los Angeles, the new album and tour, his relationship with fashion, and happiness.
It must have been difficult, at just 24 years old, to move to the other side of the world, to Los Angeles. But that’s exactly what Damiano David did: he left Rome, stepping away from his family, friends, and the other members of Måneskin, to create his solo album set to release in 2025. The kind of leap into the unknown that an artist has to make at some point in life: a leap toward oneself.
“At first, it was truly frightening,” he shares. “It was a cultural shock. And it was hard to find my place in that city.”

With his white shirt unbuttoned, revealing his famous tattoos, Damiano appears calm as we talk. Nothing betrays the fear he felt upon arriving in Los Angeles.
“If you’re European, the first thing that shocks you is the fact that there’s no one on the streets,” he says. “There are no bars or venues with outdoor seating, no squares where people gather. It’s a city where people don’t walk, whereas in Rome, that’s all you do… also because it takes courage to drive there. Los Angeles sometimes feels like a desert—it makes you feel a bit lonely.”


How did he handle this situation while also working on an album?
“Everything happened very quickly,” he shares. “I told my manager I wanted to do it, and ten days later, I was in Los Angeles with sessions booked, a house rented for six months, and no one by my side. No friends, no girlfriend, no one. But it was the best thing for me.”
He explains, “I didn’t have a background there, and basically, I could be whoever I wanted to be. Because no one knew me. That allowed me to set aside everything I had done up to that point and build my environment from scratch: new people, new places, new musicians, new writers. And, of course, that was hugely inspiring. I worked with so many different people, especially in the first few months, because what I was really looking for wasn’t the biggest producer out there but a space where I could feel at ease.”

And, surprisingly for an artist so far from home, he found it almost immediately:
“It was a big room where, by the end of the day, there were about eight people,” he says. “We went camping, spent time in Joshua Tree, in Malibu… In the end, it felt like I was just hanging out with friends while writing some music, and that made the whole experience so much lighter and more fun. It didn’t really feel like work. I’d wake up in the morning excited to go to the studio. It was a feeling I had lost over the years. So, it was very thrilling for me to feel like I was moving forward again.”


We observe that this is no small advantage when creating art—rediscovering that playful sensation, the very reason you started doing what you do. Damiano nods:
“And in the first week, Sarah (the American songwriter Sarah Hudson) comes to me and says, ‘Okay, you’re amazing, I adore you. I’m doing this project with Labrinth (the British musician and record producer), and I want you to join because we’ve been looking for a third person for a long time and haven’t found the right fit. You’re perfect.’
For me, it was a shock because I didn’t expect it, but it also felt like receiving some kind of message, as if someone was telling me, ‘You’re doing the right thing, keep going. It doesn’t matter if you’re scared—ignore it.'”


In an interview about his collaboration with Labrinth, Damiano said something very insightful: that when someone is truly great, they have the humility to make space for others. We ask him to elaborate.
“I’ve been lucky to meet incredible people, and sometimes to work with them. The best ones are always the calmest. Bon Jovi is the calmest person ever, but so are Labrinth, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger… Then there are people who are big, though not quite as big, but who aren’t calm at all. They want to have this aura that’s… fake, it’s a mask. It’s about insecurity, about not having full confidence in their career.
Well, I’m a 25-year-old guy writing songs and hoping people like them. I think I’m an artist. I think what I write is interesting. I don’t need to go around telling you that myself.”


Perhaps it’s true what they say about luck: the harder you work, the more of it you have. And there’s no doubt Damiano has worked hard on this album, the videos, and the promotion. In December, he announced his 2025 tour spanning five continents, with 31 dates across Europe, Australia, North America, South America, and Asia.
He’s made an effort to maintain a good relationship with the other members of Måneskin, to find a community in Los Angeles, a girlfriend, a family. We can’t help but wonder if it’s all too much for a 25-year-old. But perhaps it’s precisely this drive that artists need to achieve success.


And speaking of artists, but active in a different field, we ask Damiano what it was like working on this shoot with Steven Klein, a master behind the lens who has played a pivotal role in shaping L’Uomo Vogue’s image: old Hollywood glamour, sex appeal, darkness, allure…
“Steven was a lot of fun,” he replies. “Normally, I don’t enjoy photo shoots because, and I know it sounds strange, they’re extremely demanding—both physically and mentally. There’s immense pressure to have the right look, to get the perfect shot… But this time, it was really fun. I’m happy with what we created.”
We ask who picked the harness (a piece sometimes associated with the leather gay scene), and he laughs: “The harness, yes. It was there, and we wanted to try it. When we saw it, we thought, ‘Okay, this might work.’”

It’s inevitable at this point to ask him if fashion interests him—whether it’s a passion or simply a tool. He takes a moment to reflect before answering:
“It’s a tool,” he says at last. “I’m interested in it because I care about how I present myself to people, but I wouldn’t call myself a huge fashion enthusiast—not in the sense of having a culture or knowledge comparable to that of others. Rather, it’s something I enjoy experimenting and playing with.
In general, I love clothing; I like the fact that different outfits can evoke different feelings. So, yes, I’d say fashion is an effective tool, an excellent way to communicate. And I enjoy communicating.”


We tell him the interview will be published right after Christmas, so everyone will want to know where he spent it.
“In Rome, with my family,” he replies without hesitation. “I have no intention of missing it.”
The impression is that Damiano is bold and fearless in everything he does. Yet, there must be something that scares him. We ask what that might be.
“Falling into traps,” he answers. “There are so many.”
He elaborates:
“I think the secret in this line of work is consistency. I know who I am as an artist, and if this album flops, it won’t be a verdict on my talent—it will just mean it wasn’t the right time. I’ll make another album, one that will eventually work, because I know I’m capable of it. Maybe it won’t happen this year, maybe not even next year, but my moment will come if I stay consistent.
What truly scares me is falling into the trap of, ‘Oh my God, I released an album and not a single song hit number one. So for the next album, I need to write hits.’ Then you start writing them, but your heart isn’t in it. Everything becomes mechanical; you’re just chasing something. And I don’t want to chase anything with my music. I want to make the music that makes me happy.
Of course, I have to work hard, promote, perform, meet people… That’s all part of the job. But my responsibility is to the music. What happens after that is out of my control. So yes, I’d say I’m afraid of falling into the trap of mass production and fame.”
He pauses for a few moments before adding:
“Because I’ve done it—it’s happened to me. I was obsessed with it three years ago.”


We conclude the interview by asking him if he feels happy. It’s a difficult question, one we don’t expect him to answer directly, but he surprises us:
“Yes,” he says with conviction. “Right now, I feel very happy.”
And his face lights up with the captivating smile of a man who is becoming more and more himself.
CREDITS
Photos Steven Klein
Styling Matthew Ellenberger
Location Chateau Marmont
Hair Ward Stegerhoek
Make-up Mark Carrasquillo
Set Designer Ryan Patrick Glennan for Jack Flanagan
Light Assistant Dylan Garcia, Tutu Lee, Alexis Sotomayor, Rowan Liebrum, James Suter e Sasha Vasha
Digital Tech Chris Nowling
Stylist Assistant Ashlee Flower
Make-up Assistant Nanase Ito
Producer Mara Weinstein
Production Company BLK MTN