MILAN — Francesco Risso is gearing as much as unveil his fall 2023 collection for Marni in Tokyo, the creative director of the Italian brand said in an exclusive interview.

This confirms a WWD report from October.

The show can be held on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. local time.

“A yr ago, I made a decision to stage a series of traveling shows with our team and a crew of musicians to bring energy to different cities and provides back to our friends and communities world wide,” said Risso. “But these aren’t repeat shows,” he underscored.

Risso emphasized that the goal is “to be present within the epicenters of our communities and never in some distant or isolated place.” The show is predicted to accommodate around 2,500 guests.

To make sure, Japan is historically certainly one of Marni’s most vital markets. In a joint interview with Risso, chief executive officer Barbara Calò said that Marni in 2022 is predicted to report a 30 percent increase in sales in Japan compared with 2021 and over the past few days, data show an overachievement in comparison with forecasts.

Japan accounts for 23 percent of total sales, said the manager.

Marni in 2022 is seeing a 31 percent increase in global revenues compared with 2021, but Calò declined to supply a figure for worldwide sales ahead of the official disclosure at the top of the fiscal yr. This is predicted in the primary quarter of 2023.

Parent company OTB doesn’t break out revenues by brands, but market sources peg Marni sales in 2021 to total greater than 220 million euros.

Calò attributed the brand’s global growth to a robust performance in all categories, noting that the gains are achieved “in a healthy way.”

“I like this balance, there isn’t any fear that we’re counting on a single bag,” said Risso, smiling.

A Marni branch in Japan opened in 2000 and there are currently 28 points of sale within the country: two freestanding stores, 23 shops-in-shop and three outlets.

A second flagship in Tokyo will open inside the following two years, following a primary unit in Omotesando that dates back to 2019, continued Calò. The plan is to roll out Risso’s latest store concept, first unveiled in Milan on Via Montenapoleone through the Salone del Mobile in June, emphasizing the locations as creative hubs and the brand’s links to art.

Marni is obtainable in department shops starting from Isetan to Takashimaya, positioned on the luxurious floors, underscored Calò, noting that the spaces in these stores are being expanded to offer more visibility to all Marni categories.

Business is definitely a consideration, but Risso also emphasized the strong influence the country and its culture have on his design sensibility.

“I finally managed to return to Japan a month ago and once more it was a really nice and enlightening trip,” said Risso, who before the pandemic used to travel to the country two or three time times a yr, “also for research and to satisfy people. I actually have strong ties to Japan.” He said he’s “in love with Sixties Tokyo architecture.”

Risso staged his first show for Marni in Recent York in September, through the city’s fashion week, and he said that the goal with the show in Tokyo can be “to have a good time that location, as we did in Recent York. We don’t wish to be disassociated with the town.”

Recent York was the primary leg of a series of traveling shows. Risso said that he has planned 4, but that he still doesn’t know the cities where the following two shows can be staged. The concept is to return to point out in Milan in 2024, where the brand relies, and when the brand will have a good time its 30^th anniversary.

The Marni show in Recent York was held under the Joralemon Tunnel in Brooklyn, which had a high-wattage front row, including Madonna, Kendall Jenner, Doja Cat and James Harden, amongst others, and was set to music by Dev Hynes and The String Orchestra of Brooklyn.

Hynes will perform in Tokyo, too, but Risso may even include collaborators, artists and musicians from Japan “by osmosis, in a robust interaction and exchange,” he said.  Although he’s keeping the name of the placement under wraps in the mean time, he said it has “a deep reference to the creativity of the gathering.” As he did in Recent York, Risso will ask friends of the home to also walk the runway with models.

Traveling allows him to “learn concerning the culture of various countries, create strong relationships and understand what individuals are interested in. I’ve at all times been fascinated by what I call a gray area,” he said.  By means of example, Risso spoke of his “surprising, beautiful experience” walking in total darkness within the Tamagawa Daishi temple. “That is telling concerning the Japanese culture.”

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 within the Italian fashion company.

Risso, whose past experiences include the Prada Group and stints at Anna Molinari, Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Malo, has brought clashing prints, vibrant colours, deconstructed silhouettes, generous volumes and asymmetric cuts to Marni. The designer, who can also be drawn to Surrealism, often injects naif or grungy vibes into the looks, which have a young and rebellious attitude.

Risso said he’s embracing “quality that that must last in time, and discipline in addition to the abilities and patience needed to create special objects. I feel we’ve seen enough of cynicism and Brutalism. I’m not fascinated about creating products that brutalize the human expression. My mission is to decorate people and I’m not working with blinkers, I take into consideration what surrounds us, but I also aim to create a world that’s comfortable and that can give pleasure.”