Marni

CONSUELO CASTIGLIONI LAUNCHED MARNI IN 1994 TOGETHER WITH HER HUSBAND AND BUSINESS PARTNER, GIANNI CASTIGLIONI. FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, SHE WAS CREATIVE DIRECTOR DESPITE HAVING NO FORMAL EDUCATION IN DESIGN. SHE WAS WELL KNOWN FOR HER SLEEK STYLE, TOGETHER WITH COLOURFUL PRINTS CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH ARTISTS SUCH AS PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD PRINCE, BRITISH POP ARTIST SIR PETER BLAKE, AND MUSICIAN KIM GORDON AND INNOVATIVE, INTERESTING TEXTURES. CASTIGLIONI WAS NAMED ONE OF THE 100 MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE IN BUSINESS BY FAST COMPANY IN 2010. IN 2012, A COLLABORATION WITH H&M RESULTED IN A SELLOUT CAPSULE COLLECTION.

WITH ITS RISING POPULARITY, MARNI BECAME RENOWNED FOR ITS OFFBEAT SHAPES, CLASHING PRINTS, FABULOUSLY UGLY SHOES, AND STATEMENT JEWELRY, GAINING A FANBASE WITH THE FASHION CREATIVES. THE BRAND CELEBRATES INDIVIDUALITY WITH CLOTHES THAT ARE GRAPHIC AND UNPREDICTABLE. EXPANDING RAPIDLY, MARNI COUNTS NEARLY 100 STANDALONE STORES AROUND THE WORLD. MARNI HAD REMAINED A FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS FOR OVER 15 YEARS, BUT IN DECEMBER 2012, CASTIGLIONI ANNOUNCED THE BRAND’S SALE TO THE ONLY THE BRAVE GROUP, OWNED BY DIESEL FOUNDER RENZO ROSSO. SHE SUBSEQUENTLY LEFT THE COMPANY FOUR YEARS LATER.

IN 2016, FRANCESCO RISSO TOOK OVER THE REINS AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR. HE AND HIS TEAM HAVE AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO MATERIALS, PRINTS, AND SHAPES. RISSO STUDIED FIRST AT A FASHION SCHOOL IN FLORENCE BEFORE RELOCATING TO THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN NEW YORK AND THEN TO LONDON’S CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS. AFTER NEARLY A DECADE SPENT WORKING FOR PRADA, RISSO MOVED TO MARNI, WITH HIS DEBUT COLLECTION BEING FALL/WINTER 2017. CARTOONS INSPIRE RISSO, AND THERE IS A CHILDLIKE JOY TO HIS WORK, WHICH INCLUDES WARMTH AND EASE AND FEELS MODERN AND FRIENDLY.