MILAN — Francesco Risso is preparing to present his fall 2023 collection for Marni in Tokyo, the Italian brand’s creative director said in an exclusive interview.
This confirms a WWD report from October.
The show will take place on February 1 at 8 pm local time.
“A year ago, I decided to host a series of roadshows with our team and a group of musicians to bring energy to different cities and give back to our friends and communities around the world,” Risso said. “But these are not repeat programs,” he stressed.
Risso emphasized that the objective is “to be present in the epicenters of our communities and not in some remote or isolated place.” The show is expected to accommodate around 2,500 guests.
Without a doubt, Japan is historically one of Marni’s most important markets. In a joint interview with Risso, CEO Barbara Calò said that Marni is expected to see a 30% increase in sales in Japan in 2022 compared to 2021 and, in recent days, the data shows better-than-expected performance. .
Japan represents 23 percent of total sales, the executive said.
Marni in 2022 is seeing a 31 per cent increase in global revenue compared to 2021, but Calò declined to provide a global sales figure ahead of the official disclosure at the end of the fiscal year. This is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
Parent company OTB does not break down revenue by brand, but market sources estimate that Marni’s 2021 sales will total more than 220 million euros.
Calò attributed the brand’s global growth to strong performance across all categories, noting that profits are being made “in a healthy way.”
“I like this balance, there’s no fear that we’re relying on just one bag,” Risso said, smiling.
A Marni branch in Japan opened in 2000 and there are currently 28 outlets in the country: two stand-alone stores, 23 in-store stores and three outlets.
A second flagship will open in Tokyo in the next two years, after a first unit in Omotesando dating from 2019, Calò continued. The plan is to launch Risso’s new store concept, first unveiled in Milan on Via Montenapoleone during the Salone del Mobile in June, emphasizing the locations as creative hubs and the brand’s links to art.
Marni is available in department stores ranging from Isetan to Takashimaya, located on luxury floors, Calò stressed, noting that the spaces in these stores are expanding to give more visibility to all Marni categories.
Business is certainly a consideration, but Risso also emphasized the strong influence that the country and its culture have on his design sensibility.
“I finally managed to return to Japan a month ago and once again it was a very pleasant and enlightening trip,” said Risso, who before the pandemic used to travel to the country two or three times a year, “also for research and to meet people. I have strong ties to Japan.” He said that he is “in love with 1960s Tokyo architecture.”
Risso held her first show for Marni in New York in September during the city’s fashion week, saying the goal of the show in Tokyo will be to “celebrate that place, like we did in New York. We don’t want to be disconnected from the city”.
New York was the first leg of a series of traveling shows. Risso said he has four planned, but he doesn’t yet know the cities where the next two shows will take place. The idea is to show again in Milan in 2024, where the brand is based, and when the brand will celebrate its 30th anniversary.
Marni’s show in New York took place under the Joralemon Tunnel in Brooklyn, which had a front row of high voltageincluding Madonna, Kendall Jenner, Doja Cat and James Harden, among others, and was set to music by Dev Hynes and The String Orchestra of Brooklyn.
Hynes will also perform in Tokyo, but Risso will also include collaborators, artists and musicians from Japan “by osmosis, in strong interaction and exchange,” he said. Although he is keeping the name of the place a secret for now, he said he has “a deep connection to the creativity of the collection.” Just like he did in New York, Risso will ask his friends from home to also walk with models.
Traveling allows you to “learn about the culture of different countries, build strong relationships, and understand what attracts people. I have always been fascinated by what I call a gray area,” she said. By way of example, Risso spoke of his “amazing and beautiful experience” of him walking in total darkness at the Tamagawa Daishi temple. “This speaks to Japanese culture.”
Risso joined Marni in 2016, presenting his first collection for the brand’s fall 2017 season and succeeding the brand artistic director Consuelo Castiglioni. In 2015, Rosso OTB group took full control of Marnithree years after acquiring a 61 percent stake in the Italian fashion company.
Risso, whose past experiences include the Prada Group and work at Anna Molinari, Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Malo, has brought contrasting prints, vibrant colours, deconstructed silhouettes, generous volumes and asymmetrical cuts to Marni. The designer, who is also attracted to surrealism, usually injects naive or grunge airs into the looks, which have a young and rebellious attitude.
Risso said that he is embracing “the quality that must endure over time and the discipline, as well as the skills and patience necessary to create special objects. I think we have seen enough of cynicism and brutalism. I’m not interested in creating products that brutalize human expression. My mission is to dress people and I don’t work with blinders on, I think about what surrounds us, but I also aim to create a world that is comfortable and gives pleasure”.
Source: news.google.com