Marco, can you tell me more about how you connect with fashion to begin with, what was your starting point – what was your perception of fashion before you got involved in it? What kind of artists and fashion designers were influences on you back then?

In Sicily, as in all of Italy, I would say, it is very easy to be inspired by Christian iconography. As a child, sacred images provided me with more aesthetic than spiritual elements, and the first clothes that fascinated me were those of saints and Madonnas. Then the Made in Italy arrived, with the story of Gianni Versace so handy (Messina my city, and Reggio Calabria his, look from the sea) to make me daydream.

You are heading towards your 2nd year at Etro. I am wondering when you were asked to take over a fashion house as such – that symbolizes classic, luxury, savoir-faire, and heritage what were your first thoughts? And also, what was asked of you to begin with?

When Etro called me, I had to downsize for two years due to COVID-19, so an opportunity like this seemed very distant to me. But my long experience at Fendi, as well as a company with a strong family character and savoir-faire, suggested to me that Etro could be an opportunity to experiment with a new heritage.

What was your perception of etro before you took over and how did that change later?

About Etro, I knew above all the fabrics and the brand’s ability to mix them. That was enough for me as a link to my new approach. Ultimately, I have dedicated part of my career to exploring the textile world.

How easy it is to take over a house that is known for maintaining its values throughout the years with such devotion? How can the past feed the future? What is the most challenging aspect of your collaboration with Etro today?

The past is a great engine. Today, building codes from scratch can be more complex than renewing new ones, because the collective imagination matters, and fortunately, Etro is part of it. I think the most complex challenge is to pass the history to the new generations, and this applies to every area, not just fashion.

You are also the first nonfamily member to lead the Italian house. Was the weight of this responsibility too heavy for you?

I have a lot of respect for those who founded and nurtured a serious project like this, i don’t run the risk of suffocating the spirit of the family, which I try to capture. I’m studying a lot, sometimes recovering, almost with an archaeological approach. Being the first external member to deal with creativity sometimes makes me fresher, because everything seems new and renewable to me.

In general, what is the biggest challenge the brand is facing right now?

Develop your language, make it younger, and adapt it to your era.

What happens when a collection is finished? Does your connection with it fade away, or do you revisit it or keep thinking about it?

I let her go quickly. I admit that I do not know how to appreciate what I do a lot, I must see a limit to overcome rather than observe a goal achieved.

What does innovation look like these days? Is fashion week still relevant you think?

Fashion has returned to the center of the social debate. I believe that its innovation consists precisely in returning to its intrinsic value of self-expression, at a time when democracies and differences are at risk. Fashion has enormous power to fight prejudices, beyond the business it generates.

What are the essential qualities in a woman, a potential etro client, as you see it?

Women are exceptional beings; in the next life, I would like to be one of them. They know what it means to be discriminated against, weakened, and placed in a corner. This is precisely why their power is more conscious and focused than that of men. I like to think of a fashion client as a woman extremely free from any conditioning.

Which is your most important responsibility these days and why? In what ways? For whom?

The biggest responsibility I feel is towards myself. I didn’t want to be changed by the system, which is what happened. But staying authentic is a daily challenge, you can never feel completely safe. I try to be every day a man and a creative grateful for my luck.

During the pandemic, there were a lot of conversations about slowing down fashion. Do you think that the industry is capable today in cultivating these streams?

The pandemic has demonstrated the opposite, namely that the fashion industry does not slow down at all, because money is a constant accelerator. Fortunately, there is a lot of talk about sustainability at the same time, and some results in the attention of the industry can be seen.

Is it necessary to take risks when making fashion? What was the biggest risk you ever took? What does freedom mean to you as a designer? Is it possible that you are ever in conflict with your own taste?

It’s a sign of courage to come to terms with your taste and make compromises when working for others. And I would add that you are never completely free even when you work for your eponymous label, because every path you take generates expectations from which you can’t always distance yourself. I think you need to learn to take liberties and take risks with some wisdom.

Before arriving at Etro, you worked for Fendi, you had your namesake brand which was a great success, now supèrno – an entirely different project and in parallel to your duties at Etro. How would you describe each of these periods of your life and how they changed you both as a person and as a professional?

At Fendi I still hold the role of head designer of leather goods, which I combine with my creative direction at Etro. In my destiny, there have always been more parallel projects, and despite the apparent difficulties of the calendar, this fluid creativity, which moves from city to city and from need to need, continues to keep me fired. I was born as a bag designer, so my work at Fendi represents the experience I have accumulated over more than 20 years. Etro, on the other hand, contains all the possible firsts, i had never managed all the categories of such an important brand, and I feel the adrenaline that comes from experimenting. My brand and supérno, on the other hand, are currently suspended to not bite off more than you can chew, but I miss them a lot, because they have been an important personal challenge and have made me credible as an independent designer, which is not an easy undertaking. In particular, supérno is a project to which I hope to return soon, because the stupefaction that gave me to put my creativity at the service of upcycling anything else had given to me up to that moment.

The essence of the body was presented as the one of a time traveler. It was very bohemian, colorful, warm and sophisticated. Could you please tell me the starting point of the FW23 collection? What story did you want to tell? What was your moodboard about?

The time had come to pay tribute to the history of the brand in a radical way. I felt the need to explore it closely, refining my interpretive skills and bringing it to blend in with the bohemian spirit so dear to Etro. In detail everything is different from the past, but the overall vision of the collection is very etro. I think that after this step, I will explore other areas with more freedom.

At the same time there was an easiness about the silhouette, it was “street friendly” while it maintained its luxurious profile. Do you think there’s anything truly interesting happening on the streets today, in terms of fashion, as it has become so urban?

The effortlessness of the silhouette, the blanket as a domestic element that replaces the coat, the fluidity, the lightness, the masculine and the feminine, are elements that I will still carry with me. In my opinion, Etro will never be a constraint, but a sort of comfortable eccentricity. Which is the one who comes from the street, the overcoming of the eternal conflict between the desire to appear and the desire to blend into the people.

What does rebellion look like in fashion these days?

Inclusion is the most contemporary form of rebellion.

At the end? What is luxury about?

Timing. To get things done and to enjoy them.

How would you describe the period we are in, in terms of aesthetics and theory?

I believe that climate change will irrevocably change our way of life. And like any major change, it will impose new rules on us, also from an aesthetic point of view. In the end, clothing has always adapted to the geography of the planet and will have to do it more and more.

How do you apply the values of savoir-faire in what you do?
How does it resonate with your philosophy of making fashion that is heading towards a fully digitized future that also needs to be sustainable?

The first example of a sustainable approach is respect for the skills and people around you. In any job, there is a human aspect that should never be underestimated. Only in this way parallel, digital, technological universes do not risk becoming dangerous invaders.

Is Etro committed to sustainability as a company? In what ways? Should upcycling become the norm in buying clothing in the future?

We started to face the issue immediately after my arrival with a project of bags made by recycled materials, the love trotters, which we continue to produce by recovering materials intended for stock. I have more radical projects in mind, and I would like them to focus on recovering the finished product.

How challenging it is to create clothes for a universal type of woman today? Who is this woman after all?

Creating more and more transversal products is the key to being contemporary. There can’t be more aesthetic ideals, people need to identify with what we propose.

Marco, what is perhaps the most important quality a fashion designer can have?

Today it’s speed: having an intuition, recognizing it, and defending it.

Were you ever worried about the path you chose?

Never. Fashion has always saved me.