Ahead of his trip to New York, where the Italian brand is for the first time staging a fashion show on Saturday night, Rosso enthused about the work done so far by creative director Francesco Risso.
“I am a great fan of Francesco, he rejuvenated Marni, attracting a new Gen Z customer, turning it into a very modern and young brand,” Rosso observed. “He immediately understood Marni, while it generally takes two to three years to assimilate the DNA of a label.”
Marni is seeing strong business in the U.S., and Risso is a magnet for rappers, said Rosso. Many of the brand’s fans and celebrities are expected at the show, ranging from Iann Dior, Flo Milli and Tokischia to Kerwin Frost and Gracie Abrams. “He speaks their language, he involves them as an integral part of the brand, and customization has become a major part of Marni.”
Risso turned to music director Dev Hynes for the show’s soundtrack.
As reported, many of the attendees at Marni’s New York fashion show will be sporting the label, thanks to a trove of archival items that Decades founder and luxury brands consultant Cameron Silver has already started pre-selling.
Risso’s collections are “courageous,” Rosso continued, and, in addition to his creativity, he is “a talent in merchandising, as a photographer and a stylist,” envying how the designer is in tune with “the global reality.”
So much so that the idea is for Marni shows to be itinerant, after New York. “We can bring energy and be closer to local customers. Marni is a global brand, but we also want to be close to the local culture and create products for specific local markets.”
Risso joined Marni in 2016, unveiling his first collection for the brand’s fall 2017 season, and succeeding the label’s artistic director Consuelo Castiglioni. In 2015, Rosso’s OTB group took full control of Marni, three years after acquiring a 61 percent stake in the Italian fashion company.
Risso, whose past experiences include the Prada Group and, previously, stints at Anna Molinari, Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Malo, has brought clashing prints, vibrant colors, deconstructed silhouettes, generous volumes and asymmetric cuts to Marni. The designer, who is also drawn to Surrealism, often injects naif or grungy vibes into the looks, which have a young and rebellious attitude.
While OTB does not break out revenues by brands, market sources peg Marni sales at more than 220 million euros, logging double-digit growth.
There are currently 90 Marni stores globally and Rosso is investing in additional units around the world.
During the Salone del Mobile, Marni unveiled a new store concept with a striking flagship in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone reflecting Risso’s unique vision and aesthetics, as reported. The blueprint, which will be reflected in other stores around the world, is still being fine-tuned as Rosso’s intention is for the interiors to telegraph how the brand is becoming “even more luxury.”
New headquarters in Milan for Marni and Jil Sander, also controlled by OTB, are expected to be completed in early 2025, to be located in front of the stadium and the Olympic village, “in a fantastic, strategic position.”
The agreement for the new locations was inked between Rosso’s Red Circle investment vehicle and COIMA, investing together in an expansive real estate complex covering round 216,000 square feet in the Porta Romana district, increasingly a favorite of the fashion industry, and with sustainability and ESG criteria at the center of the project. The American studio Kohn Pedersen Fox will design the complex, and two new buildings will be erected in place of the existing five industrial structures.
“Milan is going through a magic moment of transformation and development. It’s buzzing in preparation of the Winter Olympics in 2026,” said Rosso.
Marni’s business is strong in Korea, China and Japan, and new stores in Seoul, Tokyo and Miami’s Design District are coming up. Rosso enthused about the “mega” store opened in Shanghai. The Italian fashion group opened earlier this year a major retail development project in that city’s JC Plaza mall, located on Nanjing Road. The four street-front, two-floor store houses labels Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, Marni and Amiri, and include exhibition spaces and interactive areas. OTB controls Margiela, in addition to Viktor & Rolf and Diesel, and has a minority stake in Los Angeles-based Amiri.
The JC Plaza store is Jil Sander’s first flagship in Shanghai, and the first in China to be opened after the brand was acquired by OTB in 2021.
Marni menswear is growing strongly, and the Milan boutique sells this category more than womenswear, noted Rosso.
The brand is performing especially well in the U.S. — and a collaboration with Kith is in stores now in the region — but Rosso said that the American market is responding very well to all OTB brands.
He also spoke about the progress at Diesel. “What is happening at Diesel is magical thanks to [creative director] Glenn [Martens], beyond my expectations,” he said of the brand, which welcomed new chief executive officer Eraldo Poletto in July, succeeding Massimo Piombini. With his experience in the business, as a former Salvatore Ferragamo and Stuart Weitzman CEO, Poletto will bring “solidity” and leverage Marten’s creativity to further build the business, which last year accounted for 45 percent of total OTB sales.
Fashion is Rosso’s bread-and butter, but he has been increasingly taking on institutional roles. Last year, Confindustria, Italy’s largest association representing 150,000 domestic manufacturing and service companies, asked Rosso to be the association’s delegate for excellence, beauty and taste of Italian brands. He is a member of the steering committee for Italy’s Camera della Moda and the Ministry of Tourism and ENIT, the national agency of tourism, selected Rosso among others such as chef Massimo Bottura, Olympic swimmer Federica Pellegrini, and ballet star Roberto Bolle, as ambassador of Italy in #LiveItalian, the new global institutional campaign which promotes the country and its beauty around the world.
Rosso has long been a supporter of Prime Minister Mario Draghi and voiced his disappointment at his resignation in July. Asked if he’s ever thought of directly entering politics, Rosso said that “some of the most important political figures in this country” have expressed their interest in having him on board, but he has so far declined. “It’s too difficult for my mentality, I want to be able to decide and take action and in politics this isn’t always allowed.” However, Rosso is embracing his more public role. “I like this kind of exposure, because it allows me to highlight the beauty of Italy,” he said.
He admitted that during the just past summer holidays he was engrossed in the news, ahead of the general elections on Sept. 25, at the tail end of Milan Fashion Week. “I have never followed an electoral campaign as much as this one, I was on vacation and I was checking daily what political leaders were saying but I find that, in general, they rely on slogans to get votes but there is limited knowledge of the issues at hand. For example, they talk about education, they claim teachers should be hired, investments be made, but they don’t really explain how they would develop schools. There are reforms to be made before this, thorough research should be done, and education is absolutely the first thing to tackle, it impacts everything else. Too often schools are not international and not connected enough to reality and to the development of business, there must be more interaction between schools and the industry. We need simple, yet concrete and focused vision and not just to hand over some cash.“
His hope is for the new government “to align with international European and American realities, this is very important. And whoever wins should surround themselves with competent people.”
As the price of raw materials and energy increase, impacting small and medium-sized companies and artisans in particular, he said one solution is to connect the pipeline directly to the companies, which can shoulder and support some of the costs, integrating the supply chain.
Rosso was among the key members of Italy’s Chamber of Fashion in talks with the Italian government to receive funds of up to 3 billion euros as part of an immediate intervention to support all the small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Asked about this, he said that he had not seen any funds allotted to the association yet. “Actually, after the fall of the government, a tax on research and development was reinstated,” he lamented.
The strong dollar may be a positive contribution to OTB, given its international business, but Rosso admitted it’s “not good for the economy. I don’t think this is the real positioning of the euro, I hope it finds a new balance.”
While acknowledging the challenging macro environment, Rosso said OTB was in growth mode, and he believes costs will “not be as excessive in six months,” a forecast he made based on the bird’s-eye view he gets by investing on a regular basis on the Stock Exchange. “Raw materials will be less expensive in the next few months,” he contended.
A public listing is in the cards for OTB, as reported, and Rosso confirmed the group is eyeing the end of 2024 or early 2025 as possible windows for the IPO. “All our managers are aiming at reaching our objectives but we will go public when the moment is right,” he said.
In the meantime, Rosso continues to “evaluate the many dossiers that are on our desk,” which range from “big brands but also best-in-class artisans.” In the latter, OTB would only take a minority stake offering the group’s technology, infrastructure, safety net and general support to develop their business.
Rosso did not elaborate on potential targets, but he said there are “not many really beautiful brands to buy, and what is beautiful is unfortunately not for sale.”
