This success story is way from tacky.
A pizzamaker at stylish LES eatery Scarr’s has gone from pulling pies contemporary out of the oven to trying contemporary and scorching on the runway.
“It’s been so, so loopy,” Christiano Wennmann, 24, informed The Publish of his newly-minted worldwide modeling profession, which he known as “an actual Cinderella story.”
The tattooed Queens native’s unbelievable trajectory from a lifetime of crust to the catwalk started this yr when he walked in buzzy New York designer Willy Chavarria’s Paris trend week present. That quickly led to main campaigns for famous manufacturers like Tinder.
And just like the dough he stretches throughout his day job, all of it started to rise when the pizzaiolo was recruited whereas slinging pies.
“I don’t suppose this could have occurred if I used to be working in every other pizzeria aside from Scarr’s,” stated Wennmann of the favored Orchard Road slice store owned by Scarr Pimentel.
Since its 2016 opening, Scarr’s has a following of followers, garnering acclaim from foodies and critics alike — some calling it the perfect ‘za in NYC.
One devotee who works for Chavarria — favored by celebs like Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish — noticed Wenmann whereas he was behind the counter coated in flour and scouted him for the model’s underwear line.
“Whereas I used to be at that shoot, they had been like, ‘I don’t know the way we haven’t seen you earlier than; you gotta come to Paris,’” he remembered of the second stars aligned.
“I used to be like, ‘Oh s – – t! Okay, I’m down.’ The following factor you understand, I’m reserving a flight to France.”
Pimentel by no means flinched at his stand-out worker’s large break.
“He was like, ‘In fact it’s important to do that, it’s a life-changing alternative,’” Wennmann recalled of his pizza boss. “He stated he’ll discover somebody to cowl me and make every part work.”
Wennmann quickly discovered himself strolling the runway in a glance from Chavarria’s Fall 2025 line at Paris trend week in a present that additionally featured a efficiency from Latin celebrity J Balvin.
“I really went into it with a variety of anxiousness,” stated Wennmann of the fish-out-of-water state of affairs, a good distance from the Lengthy Island Metropolis neighborhood he grew up in. “However Willy and his group took me beneath their wing.”
In reality, it was a pep discuss from Chavarria, who spent many years at Calvin Klein earlier than beginning his acclaimed label in Greenpoint, that put the chef comfy.
“He sat me down and stated, ‘You’re right here for a purpose and we needed you on this present for a purpose,” Wennmann recalled.
“He was saying ‘You’re already a star’ and that helped me remodel my mindset. And I feel it interprets into the photographs.”
The present garnered protection in excessive trend publications like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
And because of his breakout second within the Metropolis of Gentle, Wennmann was promptly signed by a significant modeling company and his Instagram following has skyrocketed. He has since booked campaigns and shot editorials for trend mags like Dazed and HERO, in addition to designer Sami Miro.
In fact, he’s prominently featured within the official “Scarr’s Pizza Cookbook,” which got here out final month.
It’s all not unhealthy for the faculty dropout who previously struggled with sobriety.
“I simply wanted any sort of job at first,” Wennmann stated of his origins behind the oven. He quickly discovered a dishwashing gig on Craigslist at a Brooklyn pizza place which is the place he shortly found a private ardour for making pies.
Now when he’s behind the counter at Scarr’s — he plans to proceed working whereas posing professionally — he’s not solely making the marinara, however snapping selfies with followers.
“Clients can be like, ‘Have been you the man who went to Paris?’” he says. “However I’m nonetheless making pizza. Modeling doesn’t change who I’m.”
“I’m the identical particular person I used to be earlier than all of this occurred. It’s crucial for me to remain true to who I’m. I don’t wish to overlook the place I got here from.”
