They call themselves The Three Wolves – Francesco Risso, the creative director of Marni, and multidisciplinary artists Slawn & Soldier. In a world where countless collaborations emerge every weekend with obligatory release parties, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find partnerships that feel genuinely organic. Risso, Slawn and Soldier met for coffee in London, and their distinctive styles immediately resonated together. Slawn’s signature cartoon-inspired spray paint aesthetic, Soldier’s intensely saturated palette, and Risso’s off-beat eclecticism created an inevitable synergy. It simply made sense.
Their collaboration began when Risso sought to create custom furniture for his Fall Winter 2025 show scheduled to be presented during Milan Fashion Week in Spring 2025. For a month, the trio worked in Risso’s studio, located in his private residence in Milan’s Navigli district. They explored Milan’s numerous warehouses and discovered vintage Rococo-style furniture pieces dating back 50-60 years. After bringing these finds to their studio, they painted everything white, creating blank canvases from the silhouettes of the vintage furniture upon which the artists could impart their character and vision, effectively bringing these historical objects into the world of The Three Wolves. These late-baroque furniture forms were transformed into contemporary art pieces. Adorned with vibrant graffiti colors, the furniture became the backdrop for Marni’s show. One of the pieces features paintings with vibrant pastel colors, a signature to Marni’s messy brushed style that Rissi has used throughout his tenure at Marni. From simple casual white T-shirts, to their 120-piece porcelain pieces for tea and cakes with home-jewelry brand Serax.
The creative energy between them proved too explosive to be contained by furniture alone. Their artistic chemistry demanded more outlets, spilling over from decorative objects into other mediums. Still unsatisfied and brimming with collaborative momentum, they commissioned oversized canvases that dominated Risso’s high-ceilinged space—their shared vision requiring ever-larger surfaces to express their combined artistic force.
Clear parallels emerged between the art and the clothing. A yellow dress worn by Tracee Ellis-Ross echoed a wolf’s tail pattern with bold black lines and vibrant yellow found in one of the paintings. Similarly, a red hand-sewn bejeweled suit set served as a fashion parallel to Risso’s wolf sculpture, both equally vibrant. The experience was further enhanced by live cello, guitar, drums, and synths performed by longtime musical collaborator Blood Orange, stimulating the audience’s senses and immersing them in the trio’s raunchy, vibrant, and rebellious aesthetic.After the Marni Fashion Show, there was a frantic two-hour window during which they had to quickly transport all the paintings and furniture pieces back to Risso’s home for the party. They successfully dissolved the boundaries between fine art and applied art across walls, furniture, and clothing. These three different mediums demonstrate that organic art can exist in many forms, requiring only a strong sense of belief and aligned energy to express their collective vision.
“The Pink Sun” art exhibition ran from February 26, following the Marni show during Milan Fashion Week A/W 2025, through April 14, 2025, concluding alongside the iconic Milan Design Week. The exhibit is available by appointment only to respect Risso’s privacy, as the venue is his personal residence. The attendees present during Design Week reflected the nature of their art—street artists who are in the scene with Slawn, Soldier, and Sossah, alongside invited loyal Marni clients and fashion connoisseurs.
