Free Classified Ads Articles At Milan Fashion Week, There Are Four New Designer Names You Need To KnowAt Milan Fashion Week, There Are Four New Designer Names You Need To Know
At Milan Fashion Week, There Are Four New Designer Names You Need To Know
For the majority of the last decade, the movement of designers between different fashion houses has been as much a topic of discussion as the trends that their work dictates. 'Did you hear that so-and-so is heading here?'; 'I heard that he is going there'; 'This designer is definitely set to take over at that house' is the kind of chat you can expect to hear at industry events and on the front row at fashion week.
If contemporary times are anything to go by, long gone are the days of designers remaining creatively in charge at fashion a single fashion house for decades — consider Karl Lagerfeld and his 36-year tenure at Chanel as an example of how it once went. By comparison with his peers, even Nicolas Ghesquière’s almost-a-decade tenure at Louis Vuitton feels positively long winding. But, until now, and save for Raf Simons joining Miuccia at Prada, Kim Jones adding Fendi to his CV and Daniel Lee revitalising and then being replaced by Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, Milan has largely kept out of the changing-of-the-guards narrative that has dominated the other capitals. But this Milan Fashion Week, four new names are arriving in the Italian capital to shake things up and inject a new energy into the schedule.
Maximillian Davis
Most anticipated is London upstart Maximillian Davis who lands at heritage brand Salvatore Ferragamo. After three stellar seasons injecting a particular kind of polish to talent incubator Fashion East’s shows, he arrives in Milan with the not insignificant task of bringing a new energy to the 95-year-old brand. But, if anyone has shown promise of this, then Davis certainly has.
Even from his first season he illustrated a strong sense of identity in his clothes that felt distinctly mature for a label in such infancy. Bringing together his Trinidadian heritage with a 60s-era space-age approach to sharp tailoring and itsy-bitsy hemlines, Maximilian (as his label is known) became a quick favourite of those in the spotlight. Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Kylie Jenner have each worn pieces, which tracks a similar starting point to that of Mr Ferragamo himself.
Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland were amongst the customers for the young Salvatore when he launched his shoe brand in California, quickly winning over the Hollywood starlets. Now Davis — who was chosen for the role by Marco Gobbetti, Ferragamo’s CEO who brought Phoebe Philo in at Celine, and we all know how that went — is set to reinvigorate the Italian heritage house with his distinct aesthetic and, perhaps more crucially, a more contemporary and inclusive point of view.
Marco de Vincenzo
Elsewhere on the calendar, Marco de Vincenzo is gearing up to get his print on by assuming the top job at Etro. A familiar name in Milan — who will remain in his post as leather goods head designer at Fendi — de Vincenzo joins the house after a switch of investors. If his work for his own label, which shuttered in 2020, is anything to go by, then de Vincenzo is set to be the perfect fit.
Founded in 1968, it has been designed by the Etro family up to this point, sticking to the bohemian aesthetic that defined that era for much of the following decades. De Vincenzo’s work has always played with colour and pattern in his namesake label, which is sure to carry across here. Yet we can also anticipate he is being asked to bring his accessories expertise to the Etro role. Could it be this brand that scores the next must-have It bag? No doubt that’s what they’re hoping for.
Filippo Grazioli
De Vincenzo isn’t alone in taking on a Milanese house that has long been overseen by its founding family. Former Burberry, Givenchy, Margiela and Hermès designer, Filippo Grazioli, finds himself in the same position, but at 69-year-old knitwear brand Missoni.
With Angela Missoni moving to a new role as president, it’ll be up to 40-year-old Grazioli to dream up a new creative vision for the recognisable zig-zag knits that have made the Italian label much-beloved. 'I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given, and the possibility to shape my experience further in a new vision that maintains the joyfulness, freshness, sense of colour, and positivity that are the core qualities of Missoni,' he said in a statement released at the time of his appointment. Now, with this debut drawing closer thoughts turn to how Grazioli will find liberation in the zig zags, as opposed to being weighed down by Missoni’s established, fashion-familiar identity.
Rhuidi Villaseñor
With well-stocked CVs and roles already under their belts, the appointments of De Vincenzo and Grazioli feel like measured decisions that hint at a desire to keep brand identity somewhat intact. Yet, at Bally, a new story will unfold during Milan Fashion Week. The Swiss behemoth has appointed LA-based streetwear supremo Rhuidi Villaseñor as its new creative director. The founder of Rhude, the label much loved by Bella Hadid, Cynthia Erivo and Justin Bieber, will aim to move the 171-year-old brand into a new age of style following in the path of other luxury giants that have looked to creative directors with streetwear beginnings to great commercial and critical success.
Thirty-year-old Villaseñor is more than up for the challenge, having long been familiar with the Swiss heritage label which he describes as being 'very dear' to him. 'Bally has been worn in my family from generation to generation, from my grandfather to myself,' the designer said in the announcement release. 'I have always admired the Swiss approach to luxury, its discreet representation of excellence, and symbiotic openness and care for the environment.'
With these new appointments finding schedule slots amongst Milan’s long-established houses, all eyes turn to the Italian fashion capital to conjure up a week of style equilibrium that predicts an exciting season ahead. Buona fortuna!
Reference: Elle: Naomi Pike
