Italian-born Francesco Risso graduated from Polimoda in Florence before moving to New York to pursue studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He later completed his MA at Central Saint Martins in London under Louise Wilson.
In the following years, Risso collaborated with Anna Molinari at Blumarine, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, and Malo before joining Prada in 2008 to work on womenswear and special projects.
Appointed in 2016 as Marni Creative Director, in a short span of time, he has molded the Marni identity into a whole new being, consistent to its roots but entirely his own, calling in a polymorphous new audience.
Francesco Risso approaches fashion-making as a gesamtkunstwerk, a total artwork: he merges languages and disciplines into a multifaceted whole, heralding a processual aesthetic that is embodied through interconnected media which are rooted in the materiality of clothing but come alive through fashion shows, collaborations, and shop experiences.
Since 2018, Risso has been featured in the Business of Fashion’s 500 Index of people shaping the global fashion industry.