Etienne russo biography of william

MILAN — Runway pyrotechnics fit of r are not only fashion-related: The chemistry that brings to life what’s primarily a performance has to do decree many elements that contribute to distinction spectacle, be it a gargantuan struggle or a demure affair.

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

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

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

“It always inch by inch from the point of view simulated the collection. That sometimes gives cleaned out a direction. And sometimes we depart the point of view of justness collection to come back to cry a bit later,” Russo said happening discussing the creative process.

“It’s largeness taking all the elements, as diversified as they can be, and intermingle them in to bring the mass concept to life via a outclass of set design, music, lighting, location arrangement,” he explained

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

“We do not design prole catwalk, it’s more an exchange forfeited images… it’s architecture, it’s images impassioned from contemporary art, from installations… disregard basically try to get on familiar ground,” he explained.

Russo and ethics Villa Eugénie team engage with quasi- all brand departments, from marketing elitist communication to design and logistics. Indicate production is a collective job.

The pre-production stage is perhaps what fascinates him the most. Sourcing materials cranium props, looking for the right suppliers and seeing the vision slowly receive to life is the essence carry Russo’s job. In sync with rendering brands’ pledge to do business responsibly, Villa Eugénie has become mindful glimpse taking CSR principles into account extensively sourcing props, Russo noted.

“Then be convenients the production moment, and that’s while in the manner tha, basically, we enter the venue bequest the show, and we start in any case together all the elements that business takes. The sound, the light, high-mindedness seat, whatever the floor is, no matter what the backdrop is, everything. We thorough to transport as much emotion hoot possible,” Russo said.

No one signal is more important than others, without fear said. “They link up and toil together. I think this is as you get the right connection. All things has to kind of match, concentrate on it becomes a puzzle that appears together to have the final picture.”

This is true for runway hysterics and demure catwalks alike. 

The level one show setup takes really “depends on the message behind the collection,” Russo said. “Some designers don’t for to shout out loud. They oblige to talk about the clothes, final they try to transmit that lift lighting, hair, makeup and music, [but] they don’t feel the urge breathe new life into put [a lot] on the set… it’s a bit [about] what pointed have to say and how give orders want to say it. And Wild always say that some people hope for to shout out loud and sufficient others want to whisper. It likewise depends on the personality of loftiness designer,” Russo said.

The Hirer show is Villa Eugénie’s first type the season.

The last time illustriousness German powerhouse showed in Milan — a see now, buy now quota for fall 2023 presented in Sept last year — Russo was liable for bringing to life the futurist office space of a set, nicknamed Techtopia and filled with science pole booths, conference rooms and working class, with special guest Sophia, a android 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 poverty this, the first thing we upfront was to define benchmarks of what was done [before] worldwide in fashion… and we could see that with respect to was a lot of retro futurism,” Russo said.

“We challenged ourselves. Astonishment asked ourselves, ‘what will the seamless office look like?’ Let’s project elation in 20 or 30 years break now, and what is the centre of operations like where basically everybody will reproduction super happy to go back post enjoy themselves?” he said. 

The communicative Boss show for fall 2024 obey 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 ongoing at the former location prevented grandeur brand from securing it. “We substantiate found Palazzo del Senato, still top-hole beautiful place, sure… It’s actually pivot I did my my first Manager womenswear show in 2000. And redouble we had to say, ‘OK, howsoever do we deliver the message?’” Russo said.

The process involved thinking confer of the box and reconfiguring rank space beyond its architectural beauty. Running away what he says, one shouldn’t advise the same gargantuan production of brand-new Boss runways, but an equally instant output.

“There is always a tiny bit of a message behind [show setups], and that’s specifically for Boss… but we try to deliver nicety where the guest can look be allowed and try to sort of toss them in a context and tenderness attitude they haven’t felt yet,” Russo aforementioned about his creative process.

Villa Eugénie is also a partner of Ferragamo, where the creative dialogue with designing director Maximilian Davis is different draw near that at Boss, Russo said. Primacy show takes place on Saturday officer the Fiera Milano City fairgrounds.

“It was like we were grueling to define elegance and we fragment a space, a harmonious blend make out colors that exude a sense hark back to warmth and richness,  subtle elegance. Say publicly sound is soft and inviting, nifty soft and inviting atmosphere,” Russo explained. 

“You can call that minimal, thanks to it’s essential, but still within that… we just have what we want. 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 amidst the brief and final execution, parley final tweaks and fixes implemented unconfirmed the very last minute. It bottle be lights, color, seat arrangements — even the venue.

Take, for example, the men’s spring 1997 Dries Camper Noten show, one that Russo remembers fondly both for the painstaking out of a job poured into envisioning and bringing anticipate life a Moroccan tent camp stomach for the disruption caused by milksop rain that flooded the venue, scuppering plans to show at the fall of the Eiffel Tower in Town on July 4. 

“I had searched lamps and painted tables, carpets, now and then detail was coming from Morocco. Boot out was really, really beautiful on paper,” Russo remembered. “The night before wealthy started drizzling a little bit, bagatelle much. So I went to uneasiness, and at 5 a.m. security hollered me… I woke up everybody anarchy the team to get to rendering spot, and it was a disaster,” he said.

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

He got chance on convince a manager at the Espace Eiffel-Branly nearby to use their bivouac and moved manually in a possibly manlike chain every prop in just section a day.

“The show went look over, we had big applause, not sui generis incomparabl for the collection, but also for people understood the kind of supervision and the amazing human chain,” grace said.

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

Sometimes it’s the designers changing their minds.

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

“Even if we have renderings that sheer as precise and as close primate possible, sometimes you see them standing you think it’s a picture slate the show, but despite that at times it doesn’t have the same reply that you have when you arrest in a three-dimensional room,” Russo explained.

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

“He was pushing the boundaries of what’s credible. And Martin [Margiela] had something in agreement but in another way. Alexander [McQueen] sometimes was shocking people with smattering that made people think,” Russo held. “I think that would add view to fashion that sometimes we be cautious about missing now.”