Francesco Risso has never been one to design quiet clothes. During his nearly decade-long stint as creative director at Marni, Risso updated the brand’s codes, as established by founder Consuelo Castiglioni — colorful, print-heavy, and experimental — for the modern age. His tenure was one of fashion’s rare perfect partnerships, with Risso’s own love for all things loud working to the benefit of the Italian luxury label, helping establish the former Prada alum as one of the industry’s most intriguingly out-there designers. 

The intrigue swirling around Risso doubled lately, as he left Marni and, six months later, joined GU, the small but passionately Gen Z-approved sister brand of UNIQLO. Risso’s move to GU is just the latest in a string of aftershocks within the industry, as designers like John Galliano and Zac Posen take long-term roles with retailers like Zara and GAP, respectively, swapping the world of highly exclusive (and highly expensive) luxury fashion houses for mass-market visibility.  

While his Fall/Winter 2026 GU debut is still a few months away, Risso's new UNIQLO capsule, F.RISSO, offers an early taste of what’s to come and, surprise, it’s colorful. Titled “Made for Dreaming,” the relaxed, breezy collection of men’s and women’s pieces feels tailor-made for a sunny summer vacation, and comes with all the hallmarks of his Marni codes.

There are brightly hued shirts and polos that come slightly sun-bleached and covered in bold patterns, while bow-tie blouses, flared skirts, and silk scarves give major la dolce vita vibes (which is very fitting for an extremely Italian designer making extremely summer clothes). 

It’s all very Risso and echoes the same spirit as his Marni x Uniqlo FW22 capsule, which was both his final Marni-centric collab with the retailer and, possibly, a precursor to what he has planned for the FW26 GU collection.

That release included some great waffle-knit sweaters, oversized cardigans, and cozy mittens in bold color-blocked prints and patterns, brightly hued baggy jeans, and oversized outerwear (in anything but shades of grey), all refreshingly bold options in the sea of basic, understated clothing that UNIQLO usually puts out. 

There’s clearly a reason Fast Retailing hired the designer for more than just another one-off capsule. Like so many other fast-fashion brands, the Japanese retailer has spent years edging into “fashion” proper; it hired former Givenchy creative director Clare Waight Keller as creative director in 2024 and oversees had ongoing partnerships with the likes of Christophe Lemaire and Jonathan Anderson while sibling label GU aligns iwth Japanese faves UNDERCOVER and Mihara Yasuhiro.

Risso’s playful approach to fashion feels like the antithesis of the cerebral, austere clothing that dominates the “quiet luxury” end of the market, and his Marni era was at least mildly successful for parent company OTB; 2021’s post-pandemic boom saw Marni sales jump 29 percent, before OTB went back to its standard practice of omitting Marni sales from its annual results. 

There’s still room for Risso to surprise everyone with his impending GU debut — imagine him trotting out a Marc Jacobs ’ ‘90s grunge-inspired collection, LOL — but honestly, if he keeps turning out zestily colorblocked fits in winter fabrics, that’s fine by me.

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