Fashion Show Producer Etienne Russo Opens up His Archive

When a designer has an idea for a runway show in mind that veers away from the traditional, they often enlist the aid of a show producer. These specialists assist fashion designers in making their dream sets come to life, often in challenging locations. Even among the revered short list of go-to show producers, Etienne Russo stands out.

Russo’s path to becoming fashion’s premier show producer began with training at a prestigious Belgian hospitality school before connecting with the influential Antwerp Six in the 1980s. A pivotal moment came when he modeled in an early show for his friend Dries Van Noten, sparking his interest in production design, and leading him to begin collaborating with the Belgian designer on his show sets. “He was the first to trust me, 33 years ago,” Russo says of Van Noten. “It was the beginning of a long collaboration—we did 129 shows together.”

The timeline for creating these spectacles varies dramatically. “We’ve done some in three weeks, which is crazy. Others in six months,” Russo explains. “Generally, two or three months are sufficient.” Some productions push boundaries even further, like “the reconstruction of an asylum for McQueen in 2001, or Chanel’s ‘supermarket’ in 2014.”

His process begins as “a creative ping-pong with the designer,” developing from collection briefings and mood boards. After the show season wraps up, Russo would visit bookstores with his creative assistant and “buy 30, 40, or 50 books on art, fashion, photography, and design, and then put Post-its on pages, without knowing what we might do with them.”

Through his agency Villa Eugénie, which recently expanded to Milan, Russo continues innovating while emphasizing sustainability. The Milan space embodies his eclectic vision, featuring “vintage furniture, skulls, modern design pieces and contemporary artwork... sculptures ranging from Italian Monica Bonvicini to Korean Do Ho Suh.” This contrast of opposites, as he describes it, is “a common thread in my journey as a creator of emotions.”

In his personal archive, however, is an item he cherishes the most—a Keith Haring print, cradled in a gilded Baroque-style frame. “I am particularly fond of this artwork because it reminds me of my first meeting with Keith Haring. I met him while working on the pre-planning of an event and asked if we could collaborate. This artwork keeps his legacy alive and reminds me of the extraordinary person he was.”

Each fashion designer he’s worked with has also left a unique impression: “McQueen was transgressive and poetic; Martin Margiela is introspective; and Karl Lagerfeld only looked forward, saying he was never interested in starting from the past, only thinking about the future.”

Russo’s philosophy is to embrace the unpredictable nature of live shows. As he puts it, “A show doesn’t happen by chance; experience is the sum of mistakes. Often something doesn’t work, something unexpected happens, yet everything works out and the public will never know—they’ll simply enjoy the show.”