MILAN – Shares in Moschino parent company Aeffe rose 2.26 percent to 81 cents in early trading in Milan after news that Davide Renne had been appointed creative director of the Italian brand.
The Gucci-born Renne launches at Moschino on November 1 and his first collection for fall 2024 will be presented in February during Milan Fashion Week. He succeeds Jeremy Scott, who left the brand last March after a ten-year tenure.
Massimo Ferretti, CEO of Aeffe, told WWD exclusively that after working with Scott, “who has contributed significantly to the growth of the brand,” the company “immediately launched a research process inspired by the desire to think about the future .” from Moschino and what we would like for it. The meeting with Davide was immediately enlightening. From our first conversations, I appreciated his aesthetic sense and ability to recognize the different levels of interpretation that Franco Moschino always incorporated into his creations.”
Ferretti said the Moschino universe “goes beyond fashion and encompasses art, culture and costumes.” I believe that Davide, also given his background, was attracted by this possibility of far-reaching action in a context where the main goal was always to surprise and delight.”
In addition, Ferretti said that Renne “immediately demonstrated an extremely polite and respectful approach, reflecting our corporate culture, where the values associated with family and the sense of belonging still form the foundations of our daily life.” The new course “will certainly be lead to great satisfaction,” he concludes.
Renne designed women’s collections for Gucci for two decades, eventually becoming head womenswear designer. At Moschino, he will oversee the women’s, men’s and accessories collections and report to Ferretti.
“Franco Moschino had a nickname for his design studio: la sala giochi – the play room. This touches me deeply: What fashion – especially Italian fashion and especially the house of Moschino – can achieve with its enormous power should be achieved with a sense of play and joy. A sense of discovery and experimentation,” Renne said.
The designer described Ferretti as “a gentleman who was able to listen in an almost fatherly manner and establish a dialogue when we met.”
Renne penned a letter Monday morning in which he sheds some light on his life, which “led him on a journey of discovery: After all, I was born in 1977 in Follonica, Tuscany, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, a magical body of water – according to Greek mythology “The cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea housed the four winds that Aeolus preserved.”
While in school, “for some mysterious reason, I continued to draw women’s clothing,” he writes. “I still wanted to study architecture, but when I enrolled at Polimoda in Florence, I gave myself a feeling of absolute freedom and paved the way for a journey of creativity that, as I soon discovered, became my life.”
He took his first steps in fashion with Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Renne described the designer as his “first teacher and mentor in fashion”, then he moved to Gucci.
“I have spent the last eight years with Alessandro Michele, who taught me to dream bigger, pushed me further and helped me make my dreams come true. Fashion, like life, is about discovering ourselves. I don’t like fashion that dictates answers – I’m more inclined to find the right question than to find the answers in the designer’s dialogue with our audience: fashion is inherently tailored.”
Dell’Acqua told WWD he was “happy and proud” of Rennes’ achievement. “We shared the best years of my brand Alessandro Dell’Acqua and always kept our relationship alive through constant exchange. “I am also happy that an Italian group has chosen an Italian creative with extensive experience and I wish Davide the success he deserves,” said Dell’Acqua, creative director of the N.21 brand, which he founded in 2010 after the loss of the Company established use of its name and creative control of the eponymous brand in 2009.
Another Gucci alum, Simone Bellotti, has taken the creative reins at a luxury house as he was named design director of Bally last May.
Renne continued: “The task of taking over the management of the house created by a genius of Italian design and contemporary art is an honor that I do not take lightly.” I realized that Franco only then no longer appears as an outlier if one considers his work not outside, but beyond the boundaries of fashion, as a contemporary artist. He was the creator of an amazing modern luxury concept that still resonates today – his works are present even when he is not here. Franco taught us that fashion cannot be explained, only lived, because it is essentially about life – about the world around us. For me that is the poetry of fashion. I see fashion as a dialogue in which beauty is created.”
Giovanna Brambilla, partner at Milan-based human resources consultancy Value Search, said that Renne “belongs to the group of creative minds who have deep knowledge of the product, fabrics and materials, as well as deep expertise in the production of clothing – and that “It’s also not a given.”
She believes that Renne will “give more substance to the collections and improve the luxury positioning of the brand without losing that touch of irony, after a few seasons in which the focus seemed to have been on surprising the audience.” After many years as By proxy, I think Davide is well prepared for this role and although his background is in womenswear, he was at Gucci at a moment of great change across all product categories.”
A former Gucci colleague praised Renne’s “great talent, a creative mind with a strong imagination and respect for both fashion and the people he works with.” In his previous experience, he was also able to lead his team in delicate moments without losing his smile and enthusiasm, proving that he is a sensitive man with a heart of gold.”
Following Michelle’s departure last November, multiple sources spoke of Renne as a potential candidate with the skills to take over as Gucci’s creative director – a post that eventually went to Sabato De Sarno – and his name was being bandied about in Milan as a successor to Scott for weeks.
Brands are increasingly recognizing representative designers. Previously, De Sarno was fashion director responsible for the men’s and women’s collections at Valentino. Recently, Luigi Preziotti and Dario Vitale were promoted internally to chief designers at Prada and Miu Miu, respectively, after Fabio Zambernardi, the brands’ longtime design director, left after the spring 2024 collections.
Last month Moschino celebrated its 40th anniversaryTh anniversary with a fashion show showcasing looks from stylists Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Katie Grand, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Lucia Liu, inspired by the works of Franco Moschino.
Scott succeeded longtime creative director Rossella Jardini, who continued the late designer’s leadership for two decades.
Franco Moschino began his career in 1971 as a designer for Gianni Versace for six years. In 1983 he founded his own company Moonshadow, followed by Moschino Couture! the same year. He was known for his quirky and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that parodied haute couture, but at the same time his innovative designs were groundbreaking. He reworked the classic suit with imaginative details such as bottle caps, embroidered price tags on little black dresses or created skirts made entirely of men’s ties. “There is no creativity without chaos,” was one of his famous quotes. He died in 1994.
After the designer’s death, Aeffe acquired a 70 percent stake in the company and continued to develop the brand worldwide.
monkeys took full control of Moschino in 2021, paying €66.6 million for the 30 percent stake in the brand it did not own. In addition, the company acquired the license to produce and distribute Love Moschino’s women’s clothing collections for 3.6 million euros.
In 2022, Aeffe’s sales amounted to 352 million euros, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to 325 million euros in 2021. While the group does not break down sales by brand, sources say it accounts for 70 percent of total sales Moschino out.
In the first six months of the current year, Aeffe’s sales fell by 7.7 percent to 162.9 million euros, compared to 176.5 million euros in the same period last year. Despite the decline, Ferretti said in July he was “pleased with the results of the retail channel, a direct result of the transition to a direct-to-consumer model for the retail channel.” Moschino brand in the Chinese market.”
In 2021, Aeffe also took control of Moschino’s distribution in mainland China, signaling the increasing importance of this market for the label. These were around 20 stores that were opened by Scienward Fashion and Luxury (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. in the last 10 years. were operated.
In addition to MoschinoMonkey includes the Alberta FerrettiPhilosophy of Lorenzo Serafini and Pollini Brands.