How do you wake up a dormant beauty?
In fairy tales, by way of a kiss. In reality, setting one — or, more likely, multiple — alarms. In the fashion sphere, you give runway shows a try.
After two presentations, Francesca Murri decided to accelerate the relaunch of Fiorucci by staging its first show at the Triennale Milano museum. Aptly starting with the shrill of an alarm clock, the event was intended as the new ownership’s wakeup call to reclaim the brand’s spot on the fashion scene.
But Murri has a herculean task. The brand she’s leading is not really asleep. Its legacy is vivid in peoples’ minds, for the late founder Elio Fiorucci was a disruptive force in the industry and culturally when he broke through at the end of the ‘60s, bringing an unprecedented joie de vivre and a new, colorful way to approach fashion, retail and life at-large: with curiosity, an open mind, a light heart and plenty of humor.
It’s an alchemy hard — if not impossible — to recreate and Murri on Tuesday paid the price of high expectations. Her spring 2025 show lacked the lively energy that the Fiorucci name triggers and that it should keep evoking.
Inspired by dreams, the collection had a delicate mood, hinging on white, light blue and pastel pink, nightgown-reminiscent pieces and dainty lingerie elements. It had some highs and commercially viable pieces in the ground-skimming trenchcoats opened at the back, in the mismatched knitwear and denim separates cut in loose silhouettes, and in the interesting way Murri elevated the performance and papery texture of the Tyvek fabric with macramé inlays and motifs of angels in dresses, oversized shirts and long skirts.
Accessories like jelly shoes and lollipop-like jewelry were also fitting and Murri could have pushed even further in the category to add a little punch and color.
Yet, as the designer herself is aware, this is a brand that goes beyond product and communicates a lifestyle. While staging a show to validate the new Fiorucci was honorable, breaking free from the runway and opting for happenings might be a better way to grasp its bold, inclusive and unconventional essence.