10/09/2026
In honor of Bruno Mars’s birthday, I’m throwing it back to our June 2011 Vogue shoot. When Bruno first came into the office to meet me, he had a few hits, but my internal crystal ball told me he was going to be a global superstar (always right!).
⠀
Edward Enninful and I were on a mission to do a big fashion story with him. Anna took some convincing, but we got there. Our pitch: Peter Lindbergh shoots Bruno in Puerto Rico, where his father’s family is from and where he’d never been, alongside PR native Joan Smalls. ✅
⠀
Bruno brought his then-girlfriend along: none other than a soon-to-be-superstar Rita Ora, whom I only referred to as “Rita fu***ng Ora!” We still laugh about it today. It felt like a holiday with friends, not a work trip. On the last night, we took a party bus to Ricky Martin’s first big San Juan show since coming out, and we all went backstage to congratulate him. After the story (and a couple Met invites and a performance!), Bruno gave me a shamrock necklace for my Celtics, to bring me (and them!) luck. I still have it. 🍀
⠀
P.S. 🙏 to Edward for getting the rose one-piece from my former surf line, PRETASURF, into the story. Pairing it with an advertiser’s bag was brilliant!
🛑 Going Rogue with Jill Demling Season 2 launches October 23.
Going Rogue with Jill Demling
