How Michalis Christodoulou has become the artist of choice for luxury brands

Michalis Christodoulou talks about the immersive power of London in hosting quixotic dreamers such as himself in its bustling ambience and reveals how he came to be an in-demand artist with major global luxury brands that use his exquisite pencil sketches and watercolour paintings to tell their stories and create unique client experiences.

“As a teenager, I loved drawing comic-book-style sketches and people dressed in beautiful outfits but it took me a few years to decide that I wanted to become a professional artist,” says Michalis Christodoulou.

This artist is quite a paradox. With degrees in Mathematics and a PhD in Quantitative Finance, he spent several years in the finance industry in the City of London before recognizing that the time had come for him to devote himself to what truly stimulated his brain and sent thrills through him. London was the perfect playground for an artist – albeit one who had been temporarily led astray by finance – who was ready to discover himself through colours, shapes and sketches.

“It was quite a radical decision to take and it took a lot of hard work but I started making sketches for fashion magazines and then moved on quite quickly to working with brands in the luxury industry, delving into fashion, jewellery, watches, beauty and lifestyle,” he recalls, adding that, “Moving to London was probably the most important decision I ever made, on both a professional and personal level. It’s such a dynamic and creative place and it allowed me to really embrace all the possibilities life can offer.”

In London, Christodoulou saw how people could change careers if they chose to, and as long as they had the required talent and put in the necessary hard work, anything was possible. “That is something that doesn’t happen everywhere,” he says. “I think it’s important to feel that we have the space and possibility to change as people, since what we are passionate about can alter or become clearer after our studies, for example, as happened to me. I always felt that freedom in London and that is why I stayed.”

Having those early sketches accepted for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Glamour and Elle was a turning point in Christodoulou’s life. Fashion brands then began to approach him, asking him to create sketches in a live context for client events. Gradually, his style evolved, each project constituting an important step forward and adding an extra layer of experience to his portfolio. Live events require speed and a high level of artwork quality, so he found himself obliged to take swift decisions on what to draw and what to leave out. This need deeply affected his style, leading him to create more minimal figures with a focus on particular details to capture their uniqueness and style.

“These days, my work is split between live commissions and image commissions, where I create a sketch for a brand to use for marketing or advertising purposes instead of a photograph,” he tells me. “Some of my favourites include an image I created for Bulgari of their new jewellery manufacturing facility in Valenza, Italy, and a series of images for a Valentine’s Day campaign for Forevermark/DeBeers,” he notes.

As for his many live commissions, for which he travels all over Europe and the Middle East for major brands, Christodoulou has plenty of favourites. “Recent ones include working for Dior on Les Salons d’Exception in London, creating sketches of clients with their exclusive bags and jewellery,” he says, before adding, “I also love working with Brunello Cucinelli, with whom I have collaborated on events in Athens, Paris, Saint-Tropez and their headquarters in Solomeo, Italy.” Other wonderful memories include working with Alaïa Paris Parfum in Cannes during the Film Festival and with Chanel at a private cocktail party at the Ritz in Paris.

“Live commissions are exciting as the events are usually highly exclusive and take place in wonderful, unique places,” he tells me. “I meet interesting people and I am always amazed at how powerful art can be! Having people react to the art I create for them instantly can be quite daunting but I get a lot of pleasure out of that aspect of live events. It is all about creating something on a blank page so, in a way, it echoes the creation of a piece of jewellery or a watch or a bag. It’s all about creating something bespoke and unique.”

As I examine his sketches, trying to discover his muses or the aesthetic influences that might have dictated his pencil strokes, Christodoulou reveals that the eloquently elegant faces looking back at me have been inspired by some of the actresses that he loves – including Faye Dunaway, Charlotte Rampling, Lauren Bacall and Catherine Deneuve – and their relationships with fashion or jewellery houses.

Christodoulou is an artistic chameleon. Using mostly graphite pencil and watercolours, he immerses himself in the world of each brand to become a vital part of their story and their moment in time, while preserving his own personal style. “My greatest inspiration comes from the brands themselves,” he explains. “There is always a new collection being launched or a new moment being celebrated, so being able to share those times is incredibly motivating. All the brands I work with have such a strong identity and heritage – and usually decades of history – so there is always lots of inspiration to draw from. I love being a part of this history, even in a small way” he enthuses.

Project clarity is vital, which is why Christodoulou’s art director and manager, Dimitri Biniaris, is closely involved in all his projects, making sure that the perfect blend of creativity and commercialism is found in every collaboration. “My work has always been commercial so, in a way, I have fine-tuned it to align with what brands expect,” he says. “Our goal is to use art to help tell the story of the brand, so that a client enjoys an aesthetic experience, beyond buying beautiful fashion items or pieces of jewellery. The art adds a layer of exclusivity and uniqueness to the experience that a VIP client will have in a store,” Christodoulou explains and adds. “My personal work feeds into the commercial world and is then, in turn, inspired by these commercial collaborations, so it feels like an infinite circle of creation. When I am painting live at events, people often ask me if I feel pressure or stress but, most of the time, what I am feeling is the privilege of being there, the fact I am contributing to the storytelling through my art and giving a unique piece of art to a client. I feel that I am where I belong and where my skill belongs. Being part of that unique experience, together with the client and the brand, is always an intense moment in time.”

For those who need and love certainty, art is not a territory to stray into. Art reveals its power through its refusal to acknowledge the inherent normality of life. Whether at a party at the Ritz in Paris or a fashion show in Saint-Tropez, Michalis Christodoulou is vividly and intensely present in the moment, creating stories, depicting them in an ocean of colour and carefully structured lines. He has found his place in the world, leaving behind his indelible artistic marks and a flood of emotions with every pencil line or brush stroke.

(This interview first appeared in the 2024 edition of The Cyprus Journal of Wealth Management, commissioned by Eurobank Cyprus and published by IMH. Click here to view it and here to view the entire magazine.)