This morning, it was announced that Francesco Risso will step down as Marni’s creative director after nearly a decade leading the brand.

Sally Singer once described Risso’s vision in her review of his Fall 2019 collection: “For Francesco Risso, the unpredictable turns of the mind are our defense against the expected. He believes our thoughts and passions can set us free. It’s empowering and wild—which, some might say, is what fashion is all about.”

Risso quickly made his mark at Marni after joining from Prada in 2016. He moved the brand away from its signature haute bohemian style toward something more artistic, spontaneous, and at times deliberately messy—think “Frankenstein” dresses stitched together from mismatched halves or playful paper cut-out designs. He celebrated craftsmanship by revealing the construction of his clothes, embraced bold colors, and fostered a sense of community, even turning his Spring 2022 show into a playful gathering where the audience wore upcycled pieces labeled “Marniphernalia: Miscellaneous Handpainted Treasures.”

Risso infused poetry into everything he created. His Spring 2018 collection was inspired by “two English gardens as seen by Tim Burton… with candies,” while his Fall collection explored “Technoprimitivism,” examining the tension between our love of technology and the untamed movements of the soul. Singer praised his “sumptuous, deliciously playful, and utterly perverse impulses,” while Mark Holgate highlighted his “poetically anarchic” approach—qualities evident in the selection of his best work for Vogue below.

### Highlights from Francesco Risso’s Marni Collections:
– Caroline Trentini in a striped Marni top, skirt, and bag (Vogue, October 2017, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier).
– Vittoria Ceretti in Marni’s “city-slick trench” (Vogue, March 2018, photographed by Angelo Pennetta).
– Caroline Trentini in a plaid-faced Marni coat (Vogue, March 2018, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier).
– Vittoria Ceretti in a Spring 2019 Marni dress that Risso described as “Dr. Frankenstein bringing the Venus de Milo back to life—a future of disheveled nymphs, 3-D Amazons!” (Vogue, March 2019, photographed by Angelo Pennetta).
– Sora Choi in a vibrant Marni sweater (Vogue, February 2020, photographed by Ethan James Green).
– Kendall Jenner in a wing-shaped, floral-printed Marni top (Vogue, March 2020, photographed by Jackie Nickerson).
– Kai Avent-deLeon in a Marni dress from a collection Risso called “collaged from beginning to end—macro to micro to fractal. It’s about piecing together remnants.” (Vogue, September 2020, photographed by Ethan James Green).
– Kanako Takase (left) and Shingo Shibata in a Marni coat (Vogue, September 2020, photographed by Ethan James Green).
– Mayowa Nicholas in street-ready Marni (Vogue, January 2021, photographed by Philip-Daniel Ducasse).