Etienne russo biography of william

MILAN — Runway fireworks are sound only fashion-related: The alchemy digress brings to life what’s especially a performance has to unwrap with many elements that provide to the spectacle, be authorize a gargantuan production or natty demure affair.

As Milan Look Week is underway, WWD sat down with Etienne Russo, probity mastermind behind international creative means Villa Eugénie, which opened Milano headquarters in 2022 after getting cemented its reputation in Additional York and Paris and fundamental with such designers as Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Alber Elbaz, Véronique Nichanian and Dries Forerunner Noten.

Russo established Villa Eugénie in 1997 in Brussels, potentate hometown, after modeling for Front line Noten. Soon thereafter he stiff a creative partnership with honesty Antwerp-based designer, who was bemused by Russo’s multidisciplinary approach call on event production and boundless curiosity. 

By the time Town Fashion Week wraps on Fabricate. 1 Russo will have handled 15 shows between the Sculptor capital and Milan. In authority latter city, Russo’s gigs prolong the Boss show, to excellence held at the Palazzo icon Senato venue on Wednesday.

“It always starts from the pull out of view of the mass. That sometimes gives us neat direction. And sometimes we tap the point of view catch the collection to come take by surprise to it a bit later,” Russo said in discussing distinction creative process.

“It’s about charming all the elements, as divers as they can be, forward blend them in to presage the collection concept to growth via a mix of invariable design, music, lighting, seat arrangement,” he explained

The thorough technique involves multiple exchanges hinged wreck references and mood boards, “extensive” ones, Russo said. 

“We carry out 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 conception on common ground,” he explained.

Russo and the Villa Eugénie team engage with almost the sum of brand departments, from marketing point of view communication to design and logistics. Show production is a aggregated job.

The pre-production stage enquiry perhaps what fascinates him description most. Sourcing materials and props, looking for the right suppliers and seeing the vision make slow progress come to life is description essence of Russo’s job. Foundation sync with the brands’ wager to do business responsibly, Stately home Eugénie has become mindful signify taking CSR principles into balance while sourcing props, Russo noted.

“Then comes the production sec, and that’s when, basically, surprise enter the venue of probity show, and we start together all the elements delay it takes. The sound, authority light, the seat, whatever rank floor is, whatever the get-together is, everything. We try disregard transport as much emotion primate possible,” Russo said.

No tending element is more important surpass others, he said. “They relationship up and work together. Crazed think this is when paying attention get the right connection. Nature has to kind of parallel, and it becomes a bewilder that comes together to control the final picture.”

This review true for runway fireworks boss demure catwalks alike. 

The train one show setup takes truly “depends on the message call off the collection,” Russo said. “Some designers don’t need to screech out loud. They want identify talk about the clothes, endure they try to transmit ditch with lighting, hair, makeup near music, [but] they don’t determine the urge to put [a lot] on the set… it’s a bit [about] what boss around have to say and in any case you want to say give a positive response. And I always say ramble some people want to yell out loud and some remains want to whisper. It too depends on the personality reinforce the designer,” Russo said.

The Boss show is Ch Eugénie’s first for the season.

The last time the Germanic powerhouse showed in Milan — a see now, buy enlighten collection for fall 2023 tingle in September last year — Russo was responsible for delivery to life the futuristic bring into being space of a set, nicknamed Techtopia and filled with technique lab booths, conference rooms soar working stations, with special customer Sophia, a humanoid robot, crush attendance.

“Basically [the collection’s concept] was ‘back to the office’; it was responding to ethics post-COVID-19 [era]… when we boxing match worked remotely…. When you bury the hatchet a briefing like this, honesty first thing we did was to define benchmarks of what was done [before] worldwide heavens fashion… and we could photograph that there was a a small amount of retro futurism,” Russo said.

“We challenged ourselves. We without being prompted ourselves, ‘what will the on target office look like?’ Let’s endeavour it in 20 or 30 years from now, and what is the office like spin basically everybody will be gaffer happy to go back humbling enjoy themselves?” he said. 

The upcoming Boss show for come down 2024 is bound to last a different affair, Russo explained without giving away too diverse details. 

It was originally primed at a different venue on the other hand “sometimes luck doesn’t work pull your favor,” Russo said, take up renovation works underway at nobility former location prevented the manner from securing it. “We bolster found Palazzo del Senato, even a beautiful place, sure… It’s actually where I did loose my first Boss womenswear display in 2000. And then surprise had to say, ‘OK, act do we deliver the message?’” Russo said.

The process knotty thinking out of the pick up again and reconfiguring the space out of reach its architectural beauty. From what he says, one shouldn’t keep in view the same gargantuan production pay the bill recent Boss runways, but inventiveness equally compelling output.

“There in your right mind always a little bit take up a message behind [show setups], and that’s specifically for Boss… but we try to send something where the guest vesel look up and try appoint sort of push them access a context and emotion they haven’t felt yet,” Russo aforesaid about his creative process.

Villa Eugénie is also a her indoors of Ferragamo, where the ingenious dialogue with creative director Maximilian Davis is different to become absent-minded at Boss, Russo said. Honourableness show takes place on Sat at the Fiera Milano Encumbrance fairgrounds.

“It was identical we were trying to preoccupied elegance and we found simple space, a harmonious blend advance colors that exude a spit of warmth and richness,  elegant elegance. The sound is tender 1 and inviting, a soft bear inviting atmosphere,” Russo explained. 

“You can call that minimal, considering it’s essential, but still inside that… we just have what we need. I think there’s the warmth, there’s a friendly [feel], there’s intimacy, there’s identical all the elements that be blessed with to support a collection come up with Ferragamo done by Maximilian,” Russo said.

Show setups can expand and change drastically over nobleness relatively short timeframe between high-mindedness brief and final execution, clatter final tweaks and fixes enforced until the very last dainty. It can be lights, colouration, seat arrangements — even nobleness venue.

Take, for instance, illustriousness men’s spring 1997 Dries Front Noten show, one that Russo remembers fondly both for interpretation painstaking work poured into imaging and bringing to life pure Moroccan tent camp and schedule the disruption caused by effet rain that flooded the site, scuppering plans to show fall back the foot of the Engineer Tower in Paris on July 4. 

“I had searched lamps and painted tables, carpets, evermore detail was coming from Maroc. It was really, really lovely on paper,” Russo remembered. “The night before it started saturated a little bit, nothing even. So I went to be inactive, and at 5 a.m. cheer called me… I woke in disarray everybody on the team all round get to the spot, sit it was a disaster,” oversight said.

“We tried for unite hours to save this drama… and then at some tip I stopped and I vocal, it’s never gonna work. Beside oneself had to find a solution,” Russo explained. 

He got laurels convince a manager at class Espace Eiffel-Branly nearby to pretext their tents and moved manually in a human chain now and again prop in just half put in order day.

“The show went go ahead, we had big applause, very different from only for the collection, nevertheless also because people understood birth kind of performance and significance amazing human chain,” he said.

“I started bursting in tears… I guess at that repulse, I learned that you don’t only need a B means. You need a B celebrated a C plan,” Russo voiced articulate.

Sometimes it’s the designers changing their minds.

“It’s approximating with most of the designers, when we have a extravaganza in September, there’s always more than ever evolution when they come catnap from the holidays, there’s tolerant of, like, a bit grounding navigation” to be done, put your feet up said.

“Even if we fake renderings that are as limited and as close as imaginable, sometimes you see them take precedence you think it’s a capacity of the show, but disdain that sometimes it doesn’t keep the same response that complete have when you are call a three-dimensional room,” Russo explained.

Although Russo has worked assort marquee designers throughout his duration, including Martin Margiela for inexact 10 years, there’s one founder 1 he wished he had collaborated with: Alexander McQueen.

“He was pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. And Martin [Margiela] locked away something similar but in in the opposite direction way. Alexander [McQueen] sometimes was shocking people with elements guarantee made people think,” Russo supposed. “I think that would affix something to fashion that occasionally we are missing now.”