During the 1970s and ’80s, Italian fashion label Fiorucci was synonymous with the sweaty glamour of disco-era New York and attracted artists and social luminaries such as Andy Warhol, Madonna, Keith Haring and Jackie Kennedy. Before the fashion emporium closed its operations in 1985 it had become an emblem of cultural excess and playfulness. Not only was it the world's first concept store and the birthplace of skinny jeans, but the brand was widely considered a shooting star in fashion retail never to be seen again.

This fashion documentary charts the brand's rebirth and is a hilarious study of hubris, hope and the hype game directed by British filmmaker Isaac Lock. “Fiorucci was an emblem of culture, attitude and rebellion,” says the London-based director. “Even though the first iteration of Fiorucci was driven by countless units of product that flew out of its stores around the globe, it somehow represented something totally counter-cultural in the popular imagination.”  

In 2017 a British couple bought the keys to Fiorucci in a last-minute deal with a Japanese holding company. You Will Be With Us In Paradise follows Janie and Stephen Schaffer, an entrepreneurial high-street divorcee duo who made their fortune with British underwear brand Knickerbox, as they embark on the most ambitious project of their lives—resurrecting the iconic Italian brand for a new century.

“They were so bold, candid and open about the difficulties they were facing in taking on the project,” says Lock, who captured their marketing plans, performances and missing stock in the days leading up to Fiorucci’s relaunch during London Fashion Week 2017. “They readily admitted it was not any of their business. In their words they weren’t Italian, they had never worked in high fashion, and they certainly weren’t young.” 

Lock’s documentary includes candid interviews with PR maven Karla Otto, photographer Oliviero Toscani, early Fiorucci art director Philip Monoghan, fashion powerhouse Diane von Furstenberg, and Joey Arias, former lead salesperson and performance artist for the brand. As they discuss Fiorucci’s legacy and the viability of the Schaffers’ new venture, the film raises the pertinent question of whether or not money can buy zeitgeist. 

“I went in curious about whether or not the Schaffers would be able to bulldoze their way to success with a chronically online youth market,” says Lock. “Thanks to their openness and generosity with their time and space, I left with a study of two unconventional, hysterical and entirely unique characters—totems of a different time boldly trying to find their way through a completely new world.”