FIORUCCI
1965. A young Italian designer named Elio Fiorucci arrives in London to be met with the biggest youth movement in a century. Carnaby Street and the King’s Road are in full swing. The cool kids are hanging out at stores like Biba, Mary Quant and the Kensington Market boutiques. Elio returns to Italy inspired.
Two years later, he opens his first Fiorucci store in Milan’s Galleria Passarella. It’s eclectic, outlandish and like nothing anyone has ever seen before. He expands the store over the next few years, stocking it with bold fashions sourced from all over the world.
More stores follow. In ‘74, a second location in Milan. In ‘75, the King’s Road in London. Then, in ‘76, East 59th Street in New York. The Manhattan store becomes known as “the daytime Studio 54”. It lays down the blueprints for the concept store as we know it today.
Elio’s creativity is fueled by his passion for travel. On the hedonistic isle of Ibiza, he watches as a group of beautiful women emerge from the sea in wet jeans. He can’t get over the fabric, the way it clings to their bodies. Who knew denim could be sexy? And so, Fiorucci Safety Jeans are born.
As Fiorucci grows, it becomes something more than a fashion brand. It stands alongside disco and pop art as one of the cultural touchstones of the era. But it also stands for graphic energy, invention and creativity. Things that don’t just exist in the past, but belong to the present and the future, too.
Fast-forward to 2017. Fifty years after Elio opened his first store, Fiorucci is back. A new destination in the heart of Soho, minutes away from where it all began. A new era to define. A new moment to capture. Now.
Two years later, he opens his first Fiorucci store in Milan’s Galleria Passarella. It’s eclectic, outlandish and like nothing anyone has ever seen before. He expands the store over the next few years, stocking it with bold fashions sourced from all over the world.
More stores follow. In ‘74, a second location in Milan. In ‘75, the King’s Road in London. Then, in ‘76, East 59th Street in New York. The Manhattan store becomes known as “the daytime Studio 54”. It lays down the blueprints for the concept store as we know it today.
Elio’s creativity is fueled by his passion for travel. On the hedonistic isle of Ibiza, he watches as a group of beautiful women emerge from the sea in wet jeans. He can’t get over the fabric, the way it clings to their bodies. Who knew denim could be sexy? And so, Fiorucci Safety Jeans are born.
As Fiorucci grows, it becomes something more than a fashion brand. It stands alongside disco and pop art as one of the cultural touchstones of the era. But it also stands for graphic energy, invention and creativity. Things that don’t just exist in the past, but belong to the present and the future, too.
Fast-forward to 2017. Fifty years after Elio opened his first store, Fiorucci is back. A new destination in the heart of Soho, minutes away from where it all began. A new era to define. A new moment to capture. Now.
