AnOther speaks with the writer and drag performer about collaborating with the brand on its Marnifesto project
This article is published as part of Dazed and AnOther’s Marnifesto campaign, created in collaboration with Marni:
“This project really just started off with me in my falling-down house in Forest Hill having a Zoom call with the creative director of Marni,” says writer and drag performer Crystal Rasmussen. For Marni’s Spring/Summer 2021 show, Francesco Risso had teamed up with Telfar’s Babak Radboy to produce Marnifesto, an alternative to the catwalk fashion show that has now become a whole new way of working for the brand. The project sees Risso and Radboy step back from the creative process, handing over control to a group of artists working in different disciplines – and Rasmussen was included as one of them.
For Marnifesto, Rasmussen chose to perform a series of cover songs, with a cameo from their miniature bull terrier Celine (named after Dion, naturally). They were filmed by their housemate wearing pieces from the collection, in a short film that also sees them walk the streets of London dressed head-to-toe in Marni. For Rasmussen, this felt like a moment of acceptance from an industry that has not always been welcoming of different body types, class backgrounds and gender identities. “It was really about having a genuine conversation about the brand and them listening to my take on what a fashion show could look like,” they continue. “It’s been relieving and kind.” Below, they tell AnOther about what the project meant to them, and how this way of working felt like an important blueprint for fashion’s future.
Hannah Tindle: How did Marni approach you to work on Marnifesto?
Crystal Rasmussen: It was through my friend Walter Pearce. I got approached around the time of Marni’s S/S21 collection and they told me that they were getting artists, from all over the world, that were important to them, to work with them.
HT: What was it like working with Francesco Risso?
CR: He was lovely. I went to the Marni show in Milan two years ago and since he’s taken over I’ve been absolutely loving what the brand has been producing. So to then sit with him and have him be like, “I love your work,” was fab. It felt like the hierarchy that would normally be there had been removed because of the circumstance the world was in with the global pandemic, and it felt very much full of respect.
“I think there can be meaning on a personal level, about inclusion into systems that have always felt exclusive to you. Whether that’s me as a fat, working-class, non-binary person, walking in an international fashion show, or something else” – Crystal Rasmussen
HT: What did you produce for Marnifesto?
CR: Each artist was able to choose a friend or someone else to work with. So I got my housemate to film me giving a musical performance. I had just learned to play the piano in the first lockdown. I said to Marni that I’d love to play some covers of songs on camera, with my dog Celine in shot, in the clothes they’d sent me from the collection. It’s what I had been doing anyway, and we were tasked with showing something very natural and honest. It was great and felt very intimate: me going about my day-to-day life, but in really glam clothes.
HT: What do you think of the way that Marni, such an established fashion brand, handed over creative control to a group of artists?
CR: I think it’s interesting to have as many voices and perspectives as possible, when it comes to the creation of anything. From the perspective of a fashion brand, it feels kinder, which is what I was always hoping to see from the fashion industry. During lockdown, a lot of the hierarchies that were actively maintained within fashion in order to create a sense of aspiration, became slightly meaningless, because everyone was at home: no one is bigger than a pandemic. This project really was just me in my falling-down house in Forest Hill having a Zoom call with the creative director of Marni, and having a genuine conversation about the brand and my take on what a fashion show could look like. It’s been relieving and kind.
HT: Do you think that fashion brands are genuinely meaningful to people?
CR: I think there can be meaning on a personal level, about inclusion into systems that have always felt exclusive to you. Whether that’s me as a fat, working-class, non-binary person, walking in an international fashion show, or something else. I can be aware that fashion can be problematic and exclusive, but at the same time feel very touched and feel like it’s special for me to work on a project like this, as I felt included into a system that hasn’t always been for me. Visibility is really important, because then someone else, like me, can see themselves and think, “maybe I can do that too.”
HT: Back to the clothes. Did you get to choose the pieces?
CR: It almost felt like the outfit was tailor-made for me. It was also very much ‘wear what you’re comfortable in’ and pieces that spoke to you. It felt really special to me and an acceptance that a younger me was craving. For as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with fashion shows, so being included in a creative and artistic way was really moving.
HT: Do you hope to continue collaborating with Marni?
CR: Obviously! If they let me. [Laughs.]. My honest answer is I’ve lost faith in fashion in many ways, but if it can be like this then that’s really wonderful. It’s a nice way to be near fashion, with this mutual sharing of ideas. That’s how you can create meaningful inclusion: brands having open ears. And this process, my experience with Marni, felt that way – it felt like they were listening and responding. I think you have to be realistic. There is a limit to what fashion can do. But the first thing to do is be honest about that limit, and then we can hopefully get past it.
Talent: Crystal Rasmussen. Creative director: Francesco Risso. Art director: Babak Radboy. Video director: Tal Rosner. Styling: Camilla Nickerson. Video editor: Lee Mckarkiel.
