Oscar night buzzes with anticipation as Alessandro Nivola prepares for the evening in his Hollywood hotel room. The Italian-American actor, known for his thoughtful performances, finds himself in a moment of reflection before stepping into the spotlight. His latest film, The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet, has earned a nomination for Best Film. The story follows a visionary architect navigating personal transformation in post-war America, a theme that resonates deeply with Alessandro’s own heritage.
In a short film directed by Boramy Viguier and commissioned by ZEGNA, Alessandro captures this quiet yet significant moment. While he assembles a Kapla tower, the task becomes more than a simple distraction. The small wooden pieces remind him of his grandfather, Costantino Nivola, a sculptor who left Italy with his wife, Ruth, just before World War II. The couple settled in Long Island, joining a community of groundbreaking artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning.
Alessandro’s grandfather, the son of a stonemason, carried his craft across the Atlantic, shaping a new life in New York. His artistic talent flourished in an environment filled with creativity, where ideas about form and function took shape in unexpected ways. Among the figures who influenced this artistic enclave was Le Corbusier, the pioneering architect often associated with Brutalist design. He spent a summer with the Nivola family, leaving behind frescoes on their home’s walls, a vivid reminder of the exchange between art, architecture, and craftsmanship.
As Alessandro arranges the wooden blocks, his thoughts drift between past and present. The process mirrors the patience required in sculpting, designing, and tailoring, disciplines that demand an understanding of structure and proportion. The actor sees a direct connection between these worlds, where every small decision shapes the final outcome.
The same level of thought applies to the tuxedo Alessandro selects for the evening. He reaches for a single-breasted, made-to-measure black wool tuxedo from ZEGNA. Every element, from the cut to the stitching, reflects a mastery of craft passed down through generations.
“I can see that sculpture, architecture, and tailoring share a common thread: they’re about scale, craft, and precision. About realizing something that is greater than the sum of its parts; without compromise,” Alessandro reflects. The connection between his grandfather’s sculpting, the work of great architects, and the meticulous detail of a well-made suit becomes clear.
To Alessandro, Italian craftsmanship is more than just a label. It represents expertise, tradition, and an insistence on excellence. Slipping into his ZEGNA tuxedo, he feels the weight of that history, not as a burden, but as something to take forward. “That’s what ‘Made in Italy’ means to me. When I put on a jacket that fits like this one, that is made with exceptional quality, I feel good,” he says before stepping out into the night.
