Marcelo Burlon

Born in the Patagonia region of Argentina, polymath Marcelo Burlon moved with his family to Porto Potenza Picena, Italy, when he was 14. “I went from a small village in Argentina to a small village in the center of Italy,” Burlon, now 36, says. “But it was important for me because it was not far from Rimini, which became a center of raves and club culture.” Burlon began working in clubs as a club kid before moving to Milan in 1998 and becoming a gate-keeper at Magazzini Generali, one of the city’s hottest nightspots. It was there that he met a young designer named Riccardo Tisci (pre-Givenchy), who became Burlon’s first PR client. Today, Burlon’s roster has grown to include Nike, Adidas, Versace, Calvin Klein, Prada, and Jil Sander, and his business has expanded to include event planning and, of course, sound design. “I like when a designer like Angela Missoni or Iceberg gives me carte blanche on the selection of the music for their show,” Burlon says. “It’s a great challenge, especially because I like to mix contemporary composers like René Aubry or Abel Korzeniowski with the deep electro genius of Nicolas Jaar.” Every season, Burlon also sits down with Alessandro Dell’Acqua and goes through his collection N°21. “It’s like a trip,” he says. “We see all the inspirations and dream about how the girls will walk and what the mood should be. It’s a very interesting process, because they want the modernity of my music to perfectly match the fashion.” In addition to working on shows, Burlon hosts the legendary Pink Is Punk parties in Milan and also organizes events for Alexander McQueen, Maison Martin Margiela, Diesel, Gucci, Chanel, and Raf Simons. During fashion week in Paris, Burlon hosts and deejays at the Pacino party at Titty Twister. Amazingly, he also finds time to be associate fashion editor for the Italian fashion magazine Hunter and a stylist for GQ Style Germany, and last year debuted his own brand, County of Milan, with a line of T-shirts. But music has begun to figure even more prominently in Burlon’s portfolio: He recently made his debut as a singer and songwriter with a track called “Mamarracho,” which has been downloaded more than 25,000 times on iTunes.

PHOTO: MARCELO BURLON IN PARIS, JANUARY 2013. TOP, PANTS, AND SHOES: GIVENCHY BY RICCARDO TISCI.