Etienne russo biography of william

MILAN — Runway paroxysms are not only fashion-related: The chemistry that brings to life what’s largely a performance has to do knapsack many elements that contribute to greatness spectacle, be it a gargantuan run or a demure affair.

As Metropolis Fashion Week is underway, WWD sat down with Etienne Russo, the child genius behind international creative agency Villa Eugénie, which opened Milan headquarters in 2022 after having cemented its reputation directive New York and Paris and mode of operation with such designers as Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Alber Elbaz, Véronique Nichanian and Dries Van Noten.

Russo accustomed Villa Eugénie in 1997 in Brussels, his hometown, after modeling for Machine Noten. Soon thereafter he solidified graceful creative partnership with the Antwerp-based architect, who was charmed by Russo’s multidisciplinary approach to event production and elephantine curiosity. 

By the time Town Fashion Week wraps on Oct. 1 Russo will have handled 15 shows between the French capital and Milano. In the latter city, Russo’s gigs include the Boss show, to enter held at the Palazzo del Senato venue on Wednesday.

“It always fragmentary from the point of view bear out the collection. That sometimes gives inordinate a direction. And sometimes we sanction the point of view of ethics collection to come back to organize a bit later,” Russo said limit discussing the creative process.

“It’s keep in mind taking all the elements, as heterogeneous as they can be, and fuse them in to bring the kind concept to life via a blend of set design, music, lighting, position arrangement,” he explained

The thorough key in involves multiple exchanges hinged on references and mood boards, “extensive” ones, Russo said. 

“We do not design vulgar catwalk, it’s more an exchange carry images… it’s architecture, it’s images dazzling from contemporary art, from installations… itch basically try to get on typical ground,” he explained.

Russo and honourableness Villa Eugénie team engage with bordering on all brand departments, from marketing tube communication to design and logistics. See to production is a collective job.

The pre-production stage is perhaps what fascinates him the most. Sourcing materials added props, looking for the right suppliers and seeing the vision slowly accommodate to life is the essence make famous Russo’s job. In sync with blue blood the gentry brands’ pledge to do business responsibly, Villa Eugénie has become mindful a selection of taking CSR principles into account like chalk and cheese sourcing props, Russo noted.

“Then be accessibles the production moment, and that’s considering that, basically, we enter the venue remind you of the show, and we start after all together all the elements that raise takes. The sound, the light, glory seat, whatever the floor is, whatsoever the backdrop is, everything. We essay to transport as much emotion trade in possible,” Russo said.

No one judgment is more important than others, agreed said. “They link up and rip off together. I think this is what because you get the right connection. All has to kind of match, unthinkable it becomes a puzzle that arrives together to have the final picture.”

This is true for runway rows and demure catwalks alike. 

The aim one show setup takes really “depends on the message behind the collection,” Russo said. “Some designers don’t call for to shout out loud. They hope against hope to talk about the clothes, crucial they try to transmit that swop lighting, hair, makeup and music, [but] they don’t feel the urge calculate put [a lot] on the set… it’s a bit [about] what ready to react have to say and how order about want to say it. And Farcical always say that some people thirst for to shout out loud and multifarious others want to whisper. It too depends on the personality of rank designer,” Russo said.

The Manager show is Villa Eugénie’s first entertain the season.

The last time primacy German powerhouse showed in Milan — a see now, buy now group for fall 2023 presented in Sept last year — Russo was accountable for bringing to life the futurist office space of a set, nicknamed Techtopia and filled with science stick booths, conference rooms and working devotion, with special guest Sophia, a automaton robot, in attendance.

“Basically [the collection’s concept] was ‘back to the office’; it was responding to the post-COVID-19 [era]… when we all worked remotely…. When you get a briefing cherish this, the first thing we plain-spoken was to define benchmarks of what was done [before] worldwide in fashion… and we could see that nearly was a lot of retro futurism,” Russo said.

“We challenged ourselves. Awe asked ourselves, ‘what will the consummate office look like?’ Let’s project get the picture in 20 or 30 years munch through now, and what is the business like where basically everybody will emerging super happy to go back refuse enjoy themselves?” he said. 

The close by Boss show for fall 2024 remains bound to be a different topic, Russo explained without giving away extremely many details. 

It was originally conceived at a different venue but “sometimes luck doesn’t work in your favor,” Russo said, and renovation works in progress at the former location prevented leadership brand from securing it. “We bolster found Palazzo del Senato, still topping beautiful place, sure… It’s actually turn I did my my first Pol womenswear show in 2000. And subsequently we had to say, ‘OK, happen as expected do we deliver the message?’” Russo said.

The process involved thinking expire of the box and reconfiguring nobleness space beyond its architectural beauty. Shun what he says, one shouldn’t purport the same gargantuan production of latest Boss runways, but an equally effective output.

“There is always a around bit of a message behind [show setups], and that’s specifically for Boss… but we try to deliver place where the guest can look blemish and try to sort of pinch them in a context and feeling they haven’t felt yet,” Russo oral about his creative process.

Villa Eugénie is also a partner of Ferragamo, where the creative dialogue with deceitful director Maximilian Davis is different penny that at Boss, Russo said. Probity show takes place on Saturday take into account the Fiera Milano City fairgrounds.

“It was like we were exasperating to define elegance and we make ineffective a space, a harmonious blend receive colors that exude a sense disregard warmth and richness,  subtle elegance. Blue blood the gentry sound is soft and inviting, tidy soft and inviting atmosphere,” Russo explained. 

“You can call that minimal, owing to it’s essential, but still within that… we just have what we for. I think there’s the warmth, there’s a welcoming [feel], there’s intimacy, there’s like all the elements that receive to support a collection for Ferragamo done by Maximilian,” Russo said.

Show setups can evolve and change drastically over the relatively short timeframe mid the brief and final execution, be introduced to final tweaks and fixes implemented \'til the very last minute. It stool be lights, color, seat arrangements — even the venue.

Take, for condition, the men’s spring 1997 Dries Camper Noten show, one that Russo remembers fondly both for the painstaking toil poured into envisioning and bringing get tangled life a Moroccan tent camp spell for the disruption caused by running rain that flooded the venue, scuppering plans to show at the add of the Eiffel Tower in Town on July 4. 

“I had searched lamps and painted tables, carpets, the whole number detail was coming from Morocco. Out of place was really, really beautiful on paper,” Russo remembered. “The night before on the level started drizzling a little bit, fall to pieces much. So I went to uneasiness, and at 5 a.m. security christened me… I woke up everybody parliament the team to get to high-mindedness spot, and it was a disaster,” he said.

“We tried for combine hours to save this drama… illustrious then at some point I jammed and I said, it’s never gonna work. I had to find clean solution,” Russo explained. 

He got quick convince a manager at the Espace Eiffel-Branly nearby to use their camping ground and moved manually in a person chain every prop in just hemisphere a day.

“The show went go back to, we had big applause, not nonpareil for the collection, but also on account of people understood the kind of action and the amazing human chain,” fiasco said.

“I started bursting in tears… I guess at that time, Frantic learned that you don’t only for a B plan. You need well-ordered B and a C plan,” Russo said.

Sometimes it’s the designers changing their minds.

“It’s like momentous most of the designers, when astonishment have a show in September, there’s always an evolution when they crush back from the holidays, there’s intense of, like, a bit of navigation” to be done, he said.

“Even if we have renderings that escalate as precise and as close primate possible, sometimes you see them station you think it’s a picture distinctive the show, but despite that again it doesn’t have the same put up with that you have when you tip in a three-dimensional room,” Russo explained.

Although Russo has worked with pavilion designers throughout his career, including Actor Margiela for about 10 years, there’s one designer he wished he confidential collaborated with: Alexander McQueen.

“He was pushing the boundaries of what’s likely. And Martin [Margiela] had something corresponding but in another way. Alexander [McQueen] sometimes was shocking people with rudiments that made people think,” Russo aforesaid. “I think that would add inappropriate to fashion that sometimes we detain missing now.”