Tommaso de Benedictis

Tommaso de Benedictis is an Italian-American model and art curator whose fashion career began during a football game. Born in New York and raised between Rome and London, he was studying art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art when modeling became another part of his working life.

Scouted by Tomorrow Is Another Day, Tommaso entered an international runway circuit that included Dior and Louis Vuitton, alongside repeated appearances for Valentino. Advertising brought an early milestone with Gucci’s spring-summer 2014 campaign, photographed by Mert & Marcus. Magazine work for Wallpaper and Bon developed alongside those designer bookings.

His academic interests helped him understand the clothes as part of a wider visual culture. In a 2015 interview with The Steeple Times, he explained, “Design is rooted in culture; it’s been my favourite part of the job.” While preparing a dissertation on constructivism, he found a direct connection to a Valentino collection drawing on the same artistic movement. His agency supported time for his studies as his modeling career grew.

Art subsequently became a profession in its own right. With Arturo Passacantando, Tommaso developed Orange Garden, a nomadic gallery and collective that began staging exhibitions in 2015. Its projects used spaces ranging from a frescoed Roman palazzo to a dance studio and his former apartment, bringing emerging local artists into contact with international ones.

That curatorial identity became part of his later fashion work. Pal Zileri cast him alongside musician Leo Napier for its fall-winter 2022 campaign in Rome, identifying him as an art curator, and invited him back for spring-summer 2024. He also appeared in Tod’s pre-fall 2024 campaign, photographed by Zoë Ghertner. The student who found cultural connections in designer collections went on to organize exhibitions while continuing his career in front of the camera.