Francesco Risso Is Leaving Marni After Almost Ten Years
The Italian designer, known for his creativity and design skills, is leaving the house after almost ten years.
Fashion’s musical chairs have not come to a complete stop yet. On Wednesday, it was announced that Francesco Risso will be leaving Marni after almost a decade as the brand’s creative director.
“Marni has been a studio, a stage, a dream,” he said in a statement. “It carried color, instinct, care, and gave space for people to be themselves. It taught me how to build with feeling and how powerful true collaboration can be. Thank you to the whole Marni team, and to all the friends who joined along the way, and here’s to more extraordinary journeys ahead!”
Risso took the position in 2016 following the departure of the brand’s founder Consuelo Castiglioni. At the time, Risso was relatively unknown to the industry. He had previous experience at Alessandro Dell'Acqua and Blumarine and worked for eight years at Prada, but OTB, Marni’s parent company, took a big gamble with Risso.
In the beginning, it was not easy. Marni was founded by a woman, and that female-centered narrative was important to the brand and its followers. The ascension of Risso, therefore, created some tension. His first show, presented as part of the fall/winter 2017 season, got mixed reviews. “Definitely, what people saw when I started at Marni was that I didn’t necessarily respect the codes of the house, which might be true,” Risso told W in 2019. “It was quite unsettling at the moment, but I don’t regret it. I am a big fan of Consuelo—otherwise, I wouldn’t be here—but I can’t be her clone. I have to be coherent with my own self.”
Eventually, though, Risso’s talent and whimsy won over the industry. Castiglioni was known for her use of color and her unique silhouettes, and Risso continued that narrative in his own way. He too used the recycled materials—which Castiglioni once employed—but added his own touch of theatrics, and the handmade aesthetic paired with a strong foundation created by his design and construction skills. He became known for his fantastical collections, which are every bit as moving as they are fun. While only the bravest and most fashion-forward celebrities would dare wear Risso’s Marni on the red carpet, the runway is where Risso really shone. His final collection for the house, presented in February, ended his career at Marni on a high note, with a parade of punchy prints, bright furs, and dresses that looked pulled apart and placed back together in unexpected, yet intriguing ways. 
The industry will wait patiently for the news of Risso’s next move, with the hope that it’s another house where the designer can once again flaunt his skills and create freely. As far as his replacement at Marni, there is no news on that front either. OTB has yet to make the announcement. There has been a lot of movement within the company, given the recent placements of Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander and Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela, their other brands. 
