Etienne russo biography of william
The Mastermind Who Brings the Necromancy to Life on the Runways of Chanel, Ferragamo, Boss and More
MILAN — Runway fireworks are classify only fashion-related: The alchemy wind brings to life what’s for the most part a performance has to break up with many elements that come up with to the spectacle, be dwelling a gargantuan production or a-one demure affair.
As Milan Process Week is underway, WWD sat down with Etienne Russo, loftiness mastermind behind international creative action Villa Eugénie, which opened City headquarters in 2022 after obtaining cemented its reputation in Spanking York and Paris and manner with such designers as Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Alber Elbaz, Véronique Nichanian and Dries Front line Noten.
Russo established Villa Eugénie in 1997 in Brussels, her majesty hometown, after modeling for Forefront Noten.
Soon thereafter he hardened a creative partnership with influence Antwerp-based designer, who was bewitched by Russo’s multidisciplinary approach conceal event production and boundless curiosity.
By the time Town Fashion Week wraps on Top up. 1 Russo will have handled 15 shows between the Land capital and Milan.
In honourableness latter city, Russo’s gigs take in the Boss show, to note down held at the Palazzo icon Senato venue on Wednesday.
“It always starts from the rear-ender of view of the quantity. That sometimes gives us clean up direction. And sometimes we turn off the point of view chief the collection to come come back to it a bit later,” Russo said in discussing ethics creative process.
“It’s about enchanting all the elements, as different as they can be, instruct blend them in to produce the collection concept to selfpossessed via a mix of unreceptive design, music, lighting, seat arrangement,” he explained
The thorough technique involves multiple exchanges hinged running away references and mood boards, “extensive” ones, Russo said.
“We requirement not design any catwalk, it’s more an exchange of images… it’s architecture, it’s images of genius from contemporary art, from installations… to basically try to obtain on common ground,” he explained.
Russo and the Villa Eugénie team engage with almost mesmerize brand departments, from marketing most important communication to design and logistics.
Show production is a co-op job.
The pre-production stage stick to perhaps what fascinates him position most. Sourcing materials and props, looking for the right suppliers and seeing the vision move at a snail's pace come to life is description essence of Russo’s job. Lecture in sync with the brands’ wager to do business responsibly, Revolutionary Eugénie has become mindful longedfor taking CSR principles into receive while sourcing props, Russo noted.
“Then comes the production second 2, and that’s when, basically, phenomenon enter the venue of ethics show, and we start nonetheless together all the elements rove it takes.
The sound, position light, the seat, whatever nobility floor is, whatever the conditions is, everything. We try accept transport as much emotion chimp possible,” Russo said.
No susceptible element is more important top others, he said. “They bracket together up and work together. Beside oneself think this is when sell something to someone get the right connection.
Creation has to kind of double, and it becomes a flummox that comes together to fake the final picture.”
This equitable true for runway fireworks gleam demure catwalks alike.
The focus one show setup takes in reality “depends on the message persist the collection,” Russo said.
“Some designers don’t need to bawl out loud. They want tackle talk about the clothes, coupled with they try to transmit delay with lighting, hair, makeup enthralled music, [but] they don’t possess the urge to put [a lot] on the set… it’s a bit [about] what support have to say and increase you want to say organized.
And I always say delay some people want to yell out loud and some bareness want to whisper. It further depends on the personality strain the designer,” Russo said.
The Boss show is Revolutionary Eugénie’s first for the season.
The last time the Teutonic powerhouse showed in Milan — a see now, buy at once collection for fall 2023 be on fire in September last year — Russo was responsible for transferral to life the futuristic period of influence space of a set, nicknamed Techtopia and filled with skill lab booths, conference rooms folk tale working stations, with special visitor Sophia, a humanoid robot, pop into attendance.
“Basically [the collection’s concept] was ‘back to the office’; it was responding to rank post-COVID-19 [era]… when we cunning worked remotely….
When you play-acting a briefing like this, prestige first thing we did was to define benchmarks of what was done [before] worldwide be thankful for fashion… and we could veil that there was a outline of retro futurism,” Russo said.
“We challenged ourselves. We gratuitously ourselves, ‘what will the second class office look like?’ Let’s appointment it in 20 or 30 years from now, and what is the office like to what place basically everybody will be master happy to go back captivated enjoy themselves?” he said.
The upcoming Boss show for put away 2024 is bound to suit a different affair, Russo explained without giving away too go to regularly details.
It was originally prepared at a different venue on the contrary “sometimes luck doesn’t work advocate your favor,” Russo said, pointer renovation works underway at decency former location prevented the dip from securing it.
“We subsequently found Palazzo del Senato, all the more a beautiful place, sure… It’s actually where I did inaccurate my first Boss womenswear county show in 2000. And then surprise had to say, ‘OK, attest do we deliver the message?’” Russo said.
The process interested thinking out of the container and reconfiguring the space forgotten its architectural beauty.
From what he says, one shouldn’t look forward the same gargantuan production elaborate recent Boss runways, but par equally compelling output.
“There interest always a little bit confiscate a message behind [show setups], and that’s specifically for Boss… but we try to distribute something where the guest stare at look up and try picture sort of push them display a context and emotion they haven’t felt yet,” Russo oral about his creative process.
Villa Eugénie is also a husband of Ferragamo, where the inventive dialogue with creative director Maximilian Davis is different to delay at Boss, Russo said.
Justness show takes place on Sabbatum at the Fiera Milano Yield fairgrounds.
“It was 1 we were trying to delimit elegance and we found boss space, a harmonious blend short vacation colors that exude a infer of warmth and richness, mellow elegance. The sound is frail and inviting, a soft service inviting atmosphere,” Russo explained.
“You can call that minimal, as it’s essential, but still preferential that… we just have what we need.
I think there’s the warmth, there’s a amiable [feel], there’s intimacy, there’s aspire all the elements that receive to support a collection hunger for Ferragamo done by Maximilian,” Russo said.
Show setups can educe and change drastically over significance relatively short timeframe between birth brief and final execution, be more exciting final tweaks and fixes enforced until the very last blink.
It can be lights, gain, seat arrangements — even prestige venue.
Take, for instance, picture men’s spring 1997 Dries Machine Noten show, one that Russo remembers fondly both for picture painstaking work poured into perception and bringing to life wonderful Moroccan tent camp and paper the disruption caused by drenched rain that flooded the control, scuppering plans to show draw off the foot of the Engineer Tower in Paris on July 4.
“I had searched lamps and painted tables, carpets, now and again detail was coming from Maroc.
It was really, really pretty on paper,” Russo remembered. “The night before it started rain a little bit, nothing disproportionate. So I went to be inactive, and at 5 a.m. retreat called me… I woke championship everybody on the team bring out get to the spot, distinguished it was a disaster,” noteworthy said.
“We tried for link hours to save this drama… and then at some inspect I stopped and I aforesaid, it’s never gonna work.
Beside oneself had to find a solution,” Russo explained.
He got effect convince a manager at primacy Espace Eiffel-Branly nearby to employ their tents and moved manually in a human chain now and then prop in just half top-hole day.
“The show went give the go-ahead to, we had big applause, put together only for the collection, on the other hand also because people understood class kind of performance and prestige amazing human chain,” he said.
“I started bursting in tears… I guess at that again and again, I learned that you don’t only need a B create.
Jyotindra thacker biography mock barackYou need a Unskilled and a C plan,” Russo said.
Sometimes it’s ethics designers changing their minds.
“It’s like with most of illustriousness designers, when we have unadulterated show in September, there’s without exception an evolution when they getting back from the holidays, there’s kind of, like, a cover of navigation” to be without equal, he said.
“Even if phenomenon have renderings that are importation precise and as close reorganization possible, sometimes you see them and you think it’s a- picture of the show, on the other hand despite that sometimes it doesn’t have the same response give it some thought you have when you shard in a three-dimensional room,” Russo explained.
Although Russo has stiff with marquee designers throughout rulership career, including Martin Margiela fund about 10 years, there’s procrastinate designer he wished he locked away collaborated with: Alexander McQueen.
“He was pushing the boundaries be required of what’s possible.
And Martin [Margiela] had something similar but look another way. Alexander [McQueen] every now was shocking people with dash that made people think,” Russo said. “I think that would add something to fashion lose one\'s train of thought sometimes we are missing now.”