Marni founder’s daughter on new fashion label Plan C, keeping things in the family, and the best advice mum Consuelo Castiglioni gave her
- One of Italy’s favourite fashion dynasties lives on in the shape of Plan C, started small in 2018 by Carolina Castiglioni but with 140-plus stockists worldwide
- She talks about learning from her mother, her menswear and workwear inspirations, and why Plan C is ‘a new chapter of the story’, not a wannabe Marni
Two years ago when designer Consuelo Castiglioni stepped down from Marni, the label she and her husband founded, the fashion world thought it had seen the last of one of Italy’s favourite fashion dynasties. It turns out they were wrong.
“It was a pity to leave everything behind – all the knowledge, the people that had worked with us from manufacturers to laboratories. We decided to start again but in our own way,” says Carolina, Consuelo’s daughter and the founder of the family’s latest venture, a fashion brand aptly named Plan C. “I wanted to start small – we only have 25 people working for the company, and yes, that team includes my brother and father.”
There is no Consuelo in sight this time around, making Carolina the boss – creatively speaking, at least.
“It’s only natural that people will compare Plan C to Marni, but it is its own entity. Of course from the outside it is obvious I have inherited certain tastes and styles from my mother, but Plan C is also very distinctive and contemporary. It’s a new chapter of the story in a way,” she says.
Carolina Castiglioni studied fashion business at the Istituto Marangoni before joining Marni in 2005, where she worked in various departments including retail, e-commerce and special projects. Her role at Plan C is quite different – as creative director she is responsible for overseeing all the collections, which she creates together with the product design team.