Designers Switching Houses & Moving to New Brands

[fenty]

I pray for that WWD article about his Fendi departure, for all I know Fendi hasn't done an entire womenswear collection since Fall/Winter 2020.

 

[LadyJunon]

Back to Blumarine, I feel that Brognano's departure will do more harm than good for the brand. Looking at Blumarine's recent history, the brand had been irrelevant for 10+ years before Brognano's appointment.

Brognano's Blumarine was a very early adopter to the Y2K revival with the aesthetic being introduced in his debut collection and show for SS21 with his following show, FW21, bringing the attention needed for a brand revival. The reception towards his Blumarine stayed consistently positive throughout the rest of his tenure. The collections themselves were quite good, the marketing and branding were excellent, so I think the issue came from the merchandising and distribution strategies.

The brand isn't very accessible. Despite the desire to aim at a younger audience, their commercial offerings consist mostly of evening dresses, silky blouses and low-rise jeans. Their shoe and bag offerings are sparse and there doesn't seem to be any entry-point products. The diffusion line, Blugirl, is barely advertised and it's hard to find information on either brand's stockists or points-of-sales.

The first issue could simply be solved by having the pre-collections designed to fill the gaps left by the corresponding runway collections. Just a selection of permanent on-brand staples would've done the trick. A selection of accessories should've prepared from his debut. If not, plans for creating an it-bag should've been set in motion from seeing the praise towards FW21 with the bag being introduced during the SS22 show in a range of appropriate colours and sizes. As they seem to lack stores in numerous key locations, they should've been more open with their stockists, while promoting their entry-point products through their online store.

And close Blugirl, it's a waste of money.

 

[donyan]

I’ve always wondered who the client for Blumarine is, those girls buy cheap streetwear and partydresses, and Blumarine isn’t cheap

 

[Thefrenchy]

^ Same! Being worshipped by Tiktok and Twitter "fashion experts" born in 2007 is one thing, but getting your clothes on clients is another. And I've never seen anyone in the wild wearing Blumarine.

 

[GivenchyAddict]

Not every brand needs the hype or to be on the front page all the time... (just look at Brunello Cuccinelli).

People were talking about Blumarine for what? Butterfly tops? The Barbie collection and how cute Nicola is?

No real interest in the clothes, just nice for Instagram and Tik Tok again. So good riddance! I think it is time to value experienced designers who want to make great, desirable clothes first and foremost (I am not talking about elevated basics à la de Sarno)

I hate seeing brands and creative directors lose themselves every day because they use social media as a barometer of success.

 

[AlbertNoir]

Sources Say Walter Chiapponi Is Headed to Blumarine

Chiapponi was previously creative director of Tod’s and he is said to be joining Blumarine in the same role, following the exit of Nicola Brognano.

wwd.com

 

[Tchi]

Has Blumarine been relevant since that guys appointment? Really?

 

[LadyJunon]

Has Blumarine been relevant since that guys appointment? Really?

The video below explains it well:

They just didn't know how to turn the hype into a healthy profitable business.

 

[Tchi]

The video below explains it well:

They just didn't know how to turn the hype into a healthy profitable business.

(Omg the pronunciation struggle! She should know to at least pronunciate Moschino!) I grew up surrounded by Blumarine all around me, cousins, aunts, omg.. the brand was huge, commercially, agreed, but it has NEVER been a fashionably cool brand as she is trying to portray.
They did try to go Fashion with Anna Molinari (the brand), the designer was the daughter of the couple, beginning 2000, there’s a couple of interesting collections.
Whatever this Nicola guy did it felt like bad dolce and gabbanarish mockery of what y2k aesthetic is supposed to look like without any form of feminine fragility, wich was perhaps the most relevant feature of old school Blumarine.
The “buzz” felt incredibly forced, the fact that Blumarine vintage is in revival doesn’t make a market ok, true, but also the runways felt just desperate, empty of any content, and not in a good way, in a Lotta Volkova trying to make feminine happen kind of way: Grotesque.
Bad.
Nobody wants that.
They should hire a woman, instead they are taking in Walter Chiapponi. LoL

 

[GivenchyAddict]

I would rather enjoy Martine Sitbon at Blumarine than Walter…

 

[Nimsay]

Yea I stopped watching when she couldnt say Moschino.

 

[LadyJunon]

Seeing his collections for Tod's, I hope they have a strong commercial strategy, because Brognano's audience won't care at all.

 

[Lola701]

Okay I was being dramatic but he's been promoting some of the worst people right now and that is what generates the hype and the speculative value they bring to a brand. I low key blame him for Ludovic getting the job at Ann D

It’s true that some of clients are a bit dodo but I really appreciate him as a person, his rise to success and his enthusiasm. I think that somehow, his enthusiasm always got the best of him…
I mean, we saw it with Charles de Villemorin. An over-excitement during the lockdown and boom, shows, Rochas and then nothing.
But to bet on Sacai, Anthony Vaccarello and JWA very early on in their career is a testament to his eye.

I think he needs to cut his clientele though. It’s getting too much.

 

[moonmoon]

Im always thinking what designera doing when that are out of the house where they was a Creative Directors. Like Brognanao who closed his owne brand. They just waiting to be a CD at ocher house or same of them going back to work at some brands working like a "normal" designer under other CD. Im just curious, maybe you know wiat they doing after..

 

[Lola701]

Im always thinking what designera doing when that are out of the house where they was a Creative Directors. Like Brognanao who closed his owne brand. They just waiting to be a CD at ocher house or same of them going back to work at some brands working like a "normal" designer under other CD. Im just curious, maybe you know wiat they doing after..

Some consults for brands. We have to keep in mind that there are a lot of designers in studios and only like 1% of them get the chance to be main designer or creative director. So that center stage makes your name and your face known and so either you can consult for brands, either in RTW or luxury sometimes or you can go on your own. Some people go back in the studios of major fashion houses and some others goes to different creative ventures. I think one of the most famous and successful one is Vincent Darre who was someone who worked in the early days of Prada, then worked with Karl at Fendi. He had his big time at Moschino and then did Ungaro but failed. He left fashion and did Interior design and has made most of his success there.

That’s why relationships are important in fashion. Being liked, being known as professional and being humble makes it possible for people to have long-lasting careers in fashion. I think about a house like Chloe that has a turnover of very talented designers. Their work was noticed and appreciated in different levels but those people have managed to stay in the industry.

And creative director is a huge responsability that surprisingly, a lot of designers are not attracted to. There’s a security in being in the studio to create, in a creative hub without all the pressure a CD has to endure.

 

[moonmoon]

Some consults for brands. We have to keep in mind that there are a lot of designers in studios and only like 1% of them get the chance to be main designer or creative director. So that center stage makes your name and your face known and so either you can consult for brands, either in RTW or luxury sometimes or you can go on your own. Some people go back in the studios of major fashion houses and some others goes to different creative ventures. I think one of the most famous and successful one is Vincent Darre who was someone who worked in the early days of Prada, then worked with Karl at Fendi. He had his big time at Moschino and then did Ungaro but failed. He left fashion and did Interior design and has made most of his success there.

That’s why relationships are important in fashion. Being liked, being known as professional and being humble makes it possible for people to have long-lasting careers in fashion. I think about a house like Chloe that has a turnover of very talented designers. Their work was noticed and appreciated in different levels but those people have managed to stay in the industry.

And creative director is a huge responsability that surprisingly, a lot of designers are not attracted to. There’s a security in being in the studio to create, in a creative hub without all the pressure a CD has to endure.

Thank you so much for answer ! <3

 

[Drusilla_]

I haven’t liked Prada for a while now, it’s become cold and pretentious and manipulative whereas before it was always beautiful and hugely desirable in an off-kilter way. They never had to try hard , it was always meaningful and complex. Now it’s those triangle logos everywhere, and that might work in the short run, we’ll see what happens once Miuccia has gone.

Prada still moves the needle on trends more often than we like to admit and there have been a couple of Raf-involved collections I liked (Spring 2023 felt like it had a touch of that richly coloured Prada quirkiness again) but it's still a far cry from the brands's 90s-2010 glory days. NOT saying they should keep recyling the Prada collections from those years the way Brognano was doing for Blumarine btw, that's stale.

That said, the reliance on logos is off putting and if Miuccia retires from Prada by the end of 2023 like some here seem to believe she will, she will be missed - I liked Raf's Jil Sander and quite a bit of his CK but gossip says the latter tenure ended because he was difficult to work with, not sure that bodes well for him going solo at the helm of another $10 billion+ brand.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Idk if this is the right thread for this, but does anyone know what the new AF Vandevorst "Nightfall" thing is?

"

YOU HAVE ENTERED NIGHTFALL UNCENSORED

DRIVEN BY DESIRE AND INSPIRED BY EROS

THIS TEMPLE IS ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO PLEASURE

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES YET

OUR OFFICIAL LAUNCH IS COMING SOON​

"
the insta says it's an e-commerce thing, fusing fashion and eros

 

[Nimsay]

Who ? Theyre still around and have the money for this?

Sounds like lingerie

 

[Drusilla_]

re: Blumarine, this is a bit late but I'm not surprised. Being added to under-21s' pinterest boards and screamed about on t*ktok isn't the same as clothes actually selling/revenue coming in, a brutal reminder that "buzz" isn't everything and one-trick ponies' one trick (which wasn't even original) eventually gets old. Can we declare y2k officially dead (for the next decade) now?

AF Vandesvorst launching lingerie? I'm actually curious, also I hope there'll be a few things in the line that can be worn outside the bedroom too.