GBA Lifestyle News
Nightlife persona and entertainer; advertising executive
Hong Kong performer extraordinaire Gianni Gurnani has plenty on his plate. By day, he’s an advertising executive at creative agency Dentsu Aegis Network; and by night, he performs under the drag queen persona Gigi Giubilee, delivering some of the most spectacular nightlife experiences across Hong Kong and Asia.
“Gigi Giubilee is my drag queen persona, my nightlife alter-ego, my cosmetic creation. She’s also just me. When I’m in the full look — with makeup, wig, lashes, accessories, that’s my purest personality shining through,” he explains. “In some ways, Gigi is the real me while Gianni is the dressed-down, daytime version.”
Gurnani has been in the advertising world for his entire professional career, working at creative agencies in major cities across the US before moving to Hong Kong two years ago. He splits his time “dreaming up campaigns” for major brands like Disneyland Hong Kong and Chanel — and entertaining audiences at night as Gigi Giubilee. Up next, you’ll find her as an official hostess at Cé La Vi’s lavish New Year’s Eve party, Shanghai: The Golden Era.
“There’s this sense of doing things the right way or the appropriate way that limits how we behave. But what if we weren’t operating by those rules?”
Working in these industries, he hopes to bring creativity to the glamour. “One of the things I love most about this city is its sparkle and sophistication — but that glamour can sometimes feel limiting. I see a lot of opportunity to break through those limitations and build amazing entertainment experiences that people didn’t even realize they were craving.”
He believes that Hong Kong is becoming a more open and accepting society — though more risk-taking is what will help to take it to the next level. “There’s this sense of doing things the right way or the appropriate way that limits how we behave. But what if we weren’t operating by those rules? I think that core element of riskiness, weirdness, creativeness, is missing right now. We need to bring it out in ourselves and others.”
His first job? “At the age of 9, working as a front-register cashier at my parents’ fast-food restaurant.”
His role model? “RuPaul Charles, the most famous drag queen in the world. She’s built an empire, crossed back and forth between the worlds of art and commerce, and found myriad ways to express her personal brand to the entire world.”
