Dreamy Dame: Giovanna Badilla of The Wild

Giovanna, in her apartment.

Giovanna's magazine, The Wild

Nikita, Giovanna's daughter, answering emails for her mama...

Swedish goodies devoured by yours truly

The Wild

When Giovanna Badilla and I first met, we became instant friends. We were both working in commercial production and bonded over the absurd requests made by higher ups, including a specific request made by a director that he only be served fresh homemade tuna sandwiches every day with onions diced, not sliced. True story!

But now, Gio herself is in the position of making absurd requests, but she doesn't. Instead, Gio is incredibly thoughtful and poised. And although soft spoken, don't be fooled. She's relentlessly devoted to creating gorgeous content for the masses and will work hard to make sure that continuously happens.

She is the Editor-In-Chief of The Wild, a magazine founded on the premise that fashion, design, and style are not mutually exclusive from the social and cultural issues that impact the world (wowza!) She's had success and is still building the brand and her magazine can be found internationally at cool shops like Opening Ceremony and Collette in Paris. Not to mention, she's an International girl who was born in Chile but lived in Sweden most of her life, and is now married to an accomplished fashion director from Paris. Oh, and she speaks four languages.

I sat down with Gio in her cute apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, alongside her darling daughter, Nikita (pictured) and got the lowdown on what it takes to be one of the coolest chicks I know.



Walk us thru your average day?
Wake up at 7:30 am and make breakfast for Nikita. Prepare ourselves before nanny arrives around 9am. 9am, start tackling the long list of emails that I have received during the night from European contributors, etc. Throughout the day, emailing and calling or having meetings with editors and contributors for the WILD. 6pm, nanny leaves, play with Nikita, feed her and put her to bed at 8pm. 8pm-midnight, work some more, then sleeeeeeeeeeeeep.

What are you listening to right now?

I have WNYC on all day in the office plus all the great music and playlists that we feature on the WILD blog make me stay au jour with what's good right now. 

What's the last great movie you've seen?

I used to go to the movies so often pre-Nikita, and now I hardly manage to get out. Last great movie that I saw was Drive.

What has been your favorite learning experience starting The Wild?

Communication is key and pushing myself way outside of my comfort zone.

What's one thing people don't know about you? Any quirks?

I'm way too open with who I am, so I don't think there is much more to reveal... 

You're very well traveled. What's your favorite city to live in and why?

Without a doubt NYC. There is not a better city with better energy than NYC. I love it!

To learn more, visit: the WILD magazine

(photos by Karina)