From YOOX to the King’s Counsel: Federico Marchetti’s Memoir
At the dawn of the 21st century, shopping online was still a distant fantasy. There was no Facebook, no iPhones, and few could imagine buying luxury goods with a click. Yet in the spring of 2000, digital innovator and sustainable fashion pioneer Federico Marchetti launched one of the world’s first online fashion platforms — creating a company that would transform the luxury sector.
Timed to coincide with the 2025 New York Fashion Week, The Geek of Chic: An American Dream, Italian Style (Post Hill Press, September 9, 2025) by Federico Marchetti, with a Foreword by Giorgio Armani, tells the inside story of building the world’s first online fashion company. It charts the highs and lows of the journey, weaving together surreal moments, unexpected turns, and “sliding door” decisions that defined Marchetti’s extraordinary evolution.
The Geek of Chic: An American Dream, Italian Style by Federico Marchetti
Born in 1969, Marchetti grew up in Ravenna, Italy, and overcame the challenges of a complicated childhood. His entrepreneurial spirit surfaced early, when he sold Mickey Mouse comics on the beach, planting the first seeds of ambition that would later take him across the Atlantic. In the 1990s, after graduating from Bocconi University in Milan, he moved to New York City, earning an MBA at Columbia University following a demanding stint at Lehman Brothers. There, he discovered the speed, efficiency, and transformative potential of the internet.
Off-season luxury fashion available from YOOX. Image courtesy of YOOX.
That discovery led to YOOX — its name blending the Y and X chromosomes with the 0 of computer code. YOOX gave luxury brands their first real foothold online and offered a second life to last season’s collections. Despite having no background in fashion, Marchetti leveraged his Italian heritage — steeped in beauty, luxury, and artisanship — to carve out a leadership role in the industry.
King Charles III and Federico Marchetti with the Modern Artisan Project design team. Photo Credit: Mike Wilkinson
Today, Marchetti serves as Chair of King Charles III’s Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Task Force, working with brands such as Chloé, Armani, Burberry, Cucinelli, Stella McCartney, and Prada. In a sector often defined by individuality, he has brought together global luxury houses to pursue a shared vision: building a circular, climate-conscious, and nature-positive fashion industry. The King now counts Marchetti as a trusted consigliere on regenerative fashion and digital innovation, collaborating with him on a number of forward-looking initiatives, including The Modern Artisan Project.
Federico Marchetti with the late Georgio Armani. Image source unknown.
Marchetti also sits on the Armani board of directors as the only non-family member, attends the house’s catwalk shows, and even co-invests in the films of director Luca Guadagnino. His world spans the glamorous and the groundbreaking: from hosting a dazzling party with Anna Wintour to attending the coronation of King Charles III, where he sat in another kind of “front row” as the only Italian guest alongside the President of the Republic of Italy.
Set against a backdrop of iconic cities — Milan, Lake Como, Venice, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, Dubai, and the palaces of England—and featuring encounters with figures from Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos to Giorgio Armani and Anna Wintour, The Geek of Chic is as inspiring as it is entertaining, infused with doses of style, surreal situations, unexpected happenings, and ‘sliding door’ moments. Its message is clear: innovation and business acumen must be fused with creativity, empathy, and humanism to shape a sustainable future. Marchetti shows how to achieve the American dream — Italian style.
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Image Credits:
Lead: Portrait of Federico Marchetta by Alex Maioli
All other images as credited in photo captions.