Elio Fiorucci, a return to Carnaby Street

From the company brand logo of two gnomes to the Love Therapy collection, adored by teenagers for almost half a century, Elio Fiorucci  continues to influence the life style of  adolescents.  The latest creative twist by this Milanese fashion stylist historically known for his fashion jeans -  recently awarded by the fashion design students from the Accademia Italiana with the Pyramid of Excellence award – is now collaborating with “Gardenia” in the  design of a line of amusing accessories inspired by the London style. Fiorucci’s  designs for casual wear, badges, bracelets and other amusing accessories are inspired from the trends set in Carnaby Street  in the glorious 70’s, in which he was the icon of a revolutionary style to which an entire generation identified with.  It was in 1975 that Fiorucci opened his first shop in London in Kings Road and a year later the Fiorucci shop in the “Big Apple” on East 59th Street opened that was designed by Ettore Sottsass, Andrea Brani and Franco Marabelli.  It become a cult hang-out in New York where major trendsetters, such as Andy Warhol and intellectuals met.   Success continued to follow him and with the success of the musical Flashdance, that inspired Elio Fiorucci in 1983 to launch a gym collection made up of muscle warmers, sweat bands and leggings with his brand logo.   In 1990 the Fiorucci logo was bought by the Japanese company Edwin International, a leading company in the production of jeans in Japan.  His shop in Galleria Passerella in Milan, became a cult centre for young and innovative designers, and in a short time the historical Fiorucci showroom became a reference point for the Milanese. “I enjoy travelling around the world looking for new sources of inspiration” says the stylist – “that for the last collection I found a mine of ideas going around the markets, by chance, in London!”