Under his leadership, Marni has experienced 29 percent growth in two years. But Francesco Risso (pictured), creative director of the OTB stable brand, is not obsessed with goals. In fact, he steers clear of them. According to him, if only the result (constant growth) drives a designer’s actions, there is a risk that he loses touch with reality. Therefore, it is important for him to work in a team, where everyone has their own skills. Team work then, without parameters imposed by numbers, social media or likes.
A process that does not start with the individual
Risso is far from what today seems to define a creative director. For the fall/winter collection, in fact, he started with method. “For this winter, I started by having my entire studio covered with paper, until I lost all sense of direction”, he confesses to Il Foglio della Moda. “My team and I could finally act on instinct, without expectations, without needs, without those parameters imposed by numbers, social media, likes. No web, no pictures, cell phones turned off”. Indeed, Risso’s is a team effort, which sounds unique in the period when the figure of the creative director is being questioned. Risso rejects the idea of creating his own eponymous line, preferring to offer his services to others. “I would find myself exposed to the risk of no longer being master of my name”, he says, shying away, once again, from the idea of a man alone in charge.
Collective responsibility
To describe Marni’s creations, Risso uses the adjective “ours”, precisely to emphasize the differences in views: “I ask those who work with me to give me a shake if I ever become disconnected from reality”. Risso adds how Marni’s clothes are not designed to be in a museum display case, but as part of a social movement. And on creativity, which is fundamental for brands, he highlights how there is a dual vision in him. “On the one hand, there is a contractual use of the word creativity (the one that fits the system)”, the designer further stresses. “However, there is another Francis who defends the pure creative process, which leads to something new”.
Without obsessing about goals
To the eternal dilemma, however, there is a solution, according to Risso. Establish an open field of collaboration, with artists of all kinds. “Today we are driven by continuous control that imposes goals, but does not tell what lies behind them”, he specifies. “So everything becomes cold and calculated, the opposite of what I consider beauty: people do not aspire to buy what is only produced for economic performance”.
Photo from marni.com
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