Fiorucci Brings Its Archive of Keith Haring and Madonna Memorabilia to Shoreditch
The Italian brand that was founded 55 years ago is opening two new stores.
LONDON — Fiorucci will soon be calling East London home.
The Italian brand that was founded 55 years ago by Elio Fiorucci is further expanding its brick-and-mortar stores with two new locations in Shoreditch for a period of six months, one on Shoreditch High Street and the other on Redchurch Street.
The stores are an ode to Fiorucci’s camp visual language with hues of bubblegum pink and touches of white, blue and orange.
Both spaces were designed by Iranian-born British architect Farshid Moussavi, who has previously worked on the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in Ohio and the Harrods toy department in London.
“I first met her when I worked with Victoria Beckham and helped open the store in 2014,” said Daniel W. Fletcher, menswear artistic director at Fiorucci.
“It’s really nice to be able to work with her on this, it’s come full circle.”
When the brand relaunched five years ago, the whole archive was brought over to the U.K. including the Fiorucci chairs which have been repurposed in the changing rooms.
The Shoreditch store in East London features a wall of Fiorucci memorabilia that highlights defining moments for the brand, from when artist Keith Haring was invited in 1983 to paint the Milan store; the denim jacket decorated with silver coins designed for Madonna when she was an up-and-coming musician, whose brother used to work at the New York City store; and a pair of hand-painted denim jeans featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse which was one of Disney’s first licensing fashion partnerships with another brand.
“We wanted to use this store as an opportunity to showcase those things,” said Fletcher, adding that he wanted the customers to experience Fiorucci’s rich history.
The brand is optimistic that it will be opening more pop-ups around Europe, as has been on the agenda since before the pandemic hit.
“Shoreditch feels like the right customer for us,” Fletcher said, addressing why he eyed up the location. “They are engaged in fashion, and there is a fantastic creative community here so it felt like the right place to showcase the Fiorucci archive.”
Since Fletcher’s appointment in 2019, the label has pushed through just selling cherub sweatshirts to teenagers to firmly forging a relationship with its young adult customers in their twenties and thirties.
“Our customers want to start shopping consciously and sustainably,” said Fletcher, revealing that the brand has been working on its green practices by introducing goods made from apple leather, as well as exclusively using organic cotton and recycled materials.
During London Fashion Week, Fiorucci will be transforming the store into a hub for different activations from panel talks to parties.
The lead up to September is Fletcher’s busiest time of year as he juggles his responsibilities at Fiorucci and opening London Fashion Week with his eponymous label. He’s been so hands-on at the store that he’s been folding the clothes with the retail staff.
“I was literally here last night folding sweatshirts which took me back to my Jack Wills years when I was at school and university,” Fletcher joked.
