Not too long ago, a meme began to circulate on Twitter. It depicted the fashion industry as a high-school cafeteria, with each designer attracting a specific subgenre of students: Rick Owens sits with the goths, of course, while Ralph Lauren attracts the jocks and Gucci remains proudly aligned with the nerds.

If that was the case, then Marni’s cafeteria table would be the domain of the arty kids. Since the Sardinian designer Mr Francesco Risso took over the label in 2016, the Italian brand has leaned into a crafty, artisanal and playfully off-the-wall aesthetic that has made its clothes distinct from almost anything else out there. They are bold in colour, print and shape, but with a laid-back slouchiness that keeps them from veering into the alarmingly outré.

And it’s that quality that led us to invite the brand to collaborate on an exclusive wardrobe for MR PORTER, which launches today. The collection is a celebration of the joyously tactile quality of Marni’s clothes: fuzzy mohair and soft leathers sit alongside appliqued logos and densely textured fake fur, all rendered in dopamine-inducing colours. To mark the occasion, we invited the Los Angeles-based musician KayCyy, who has a longstanding friendship with Risso, to show case the collection.

We joined the pair in New York for a special conversation in the aftermath of Marni’s most recent SS23 show. Read on to learn more about their uniquely collaborative relationship.

Mr Francesco Risso: We missed you at the Marni show last week!

KayCyy: I know, I heard it was crazy. Everybody was there?

FR: It was crazy. It was such a great experience. And I played live music in front of people for the first time in my life.

K: You play the cello, right?

FR: Yes, so I played in the orchestra at the show. I felt like Dev Hynes [laughs]. So you and I first met quite randomly, through a mutual friend – and I remember that you happened to be in Milan and came to visit. And the moment you came in, all of us in the studio thought, “OK, he needs to walk in the show”. I guess we started from there. I’m just such a big admirer of what you do.

K: I’m so happy that it worked out like that, because I was a big fan. I was drawn to Marni already – you just know a Marni piece when you look at it. The ideas, the creativity, the stepping out of the box. And I love the fact that you talk about the people you work with as a family.

FR: I just don’t like that whole egocentric thing. It’s been a huge exercise for me to get away from that typical fashion world structure: I’m trying to work in a circular way, rather than as a pyramid with me at the top. And I know I have so much to learn from the other people around me. I want everyone around me to feel free to give their interpretation of what they’re seeing. Any kind of collaboration – with you, or with anyone else we work with at Marni – it has to be an exchange.

K: You know, when I worked with Kanye [West] on the Donda album, that’s really how we built our relationship. By the end of that project, it did feel like we were as close as family: I spent so much time around him, and I learnt so much about what he had been going through. Everything became super close. And that made it easier to make music. So, I feel like if I was ever to collaborate with somebody in fashion, I’d want it to be somebody where the relationship is there rather than just, “Oh, come and try on these clothes.”

FR: It’s so true. For me it’s just so much more joyful. I like the idea that Marni can be seen through other eyes, and that we can play with it. I find that extremely interesting. You need other perspectives – I feel that life often puts us into bubbles, and you have to find ways of breaking outside of that.

K: It’s the same in music. I love to work with people from different genres, and learn what I can take from that to make myself better. Suddenly I’ll be like, “That’s dope! I need to do country music now. How can I mix that with hip-hop?”

FR: You know, one thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, is what it means to be a creative person at this moment in time. We’re living in such a hard time: the harshness is everywhere. It’s in our politics, it’s in our cities – and the pandemic, of course. It’s just a really difficult time in general. I can’t help but feel that everything has gone backwards. And with Covid, there was so much we could have learnt during that time. It really gave me time to re-engage with my own practice. And I’ve realised that what we do has to be pleasurable. That’s the service we provide: joy.

K: For me, it’s about the pleasure of bringing people together. That connection. We’ve got to feel good, and we’ve got to make sure that other people feel good – make them feel a part of what we’re doing, a part of our mind, a part of our culture. That’s probably why I feel happiest when I’m performing. It’s something I wanted to do for a long time. I guess it’s a similar feeling that you get when your fashion show is going on. I’m so nervous before every show, but it makes me go way better. It’s a fear of failure, I guess. You must feel the same way.

FR: Well, there are failures and failures. And I’ve stopped depending too much on the reaction to what I do. It can bring a lot of pain. So, for me, what actually changes the dynamics of the brand is how it spreads into the world and what’s on the street. It’s not just about the fashion show. It’s much bigger than that. The biggest failure for me would be to disappoint my people: my family, my friends, the people that I work with. That’s what really is important to me. I don’t think it’s healthy to rely on what’s happening in the fashion world.

K: You know, I was super depressed at one point. I felt like I was doing anything to feel better. But I came to realise that I needed that. I’m a big believer in falling forward. Like, did you know I was a contestant on American Idol?

FR: No way!

K: Yeah, I was like 15 or 16 years old, and they told me no. So, you know, things just kind of work out.

FR: Can you imagine if you had gone and done American Idol?

K: Honestly, I’m kind of glad it didn’t happen. So, what’s next for you?

FR: A collaboration with KayCyy!

K: Of course, we’ve got to make that happen. I’d be so excited to do that with you. We need to get together and brainstorm. I want to keep building on our relationship. We’ll have to get together and talk.