Pronovias enters menswear segment with Carlo Pignatelli label
Pronovias has taken its first steps into the men’s wedding outfits segment by teaming up with Carlo Pignatelli. On Wednesday, the leading Spanish bridal wear group announced the signing of a “long-term partnership” deal with the Italian luxury menswear label specialised in wedding outfits and occasionwear, with a view to launching its first men's collection, which is set to arrive in-store in summer 2021.
“We have been leaders in bridal wear for over 50 years, but we don’t have any know-how in menswear. For us, it was important to find the right partner. With its expertise, luxury market positioning, quality and style, Carlo Pignatelli is the number-one name in this segment. We approached Carlo Pignatelli last year, and were hugely impressed by its staff,” said Amandine Ohayon, CEO of Pronovias, during a video-conference.
The first collection for 2022 will be unveiled in March this year and distributed from July, via the two partners’ retail networks, and will be available at their flagship stores and at selected multibrand retailers. In the first two years, the partners will focus on the European market, but the project is designed to have a global reach, and will also target specifically the US and Chinese markets.
“I’ve always believed in partnerships of excellence. When a Ferrari is put at the disposal of a winning project, the conditions for top results are all there! Pronovias believes so much in this collaboration that it is set to last for 10 years, instead of the usual three-year term for this kind of partnership,” said the General Manager of Pronovias Italy, Carlo Cavalli, without disclosing the deal’s financial details.
The Carlo Pignatelli for Pronovias collection, with its own distinctive logo featuring two interlaced rings, will consist of 45 men's wedding outfits each year, designed by Francesco Pignatelli, creative director of the Italian luxe label. “[The collection] will feature total looks integrated by an array of accessories, from ties to cuff-links. I’ve imagined cosmopolitan, high-tech menswear looks with a romantic undertone and contemporary cuts,” said Francesco Pignatelli, underlining how the project has led him to broaden his scope.
“This collection features a much larger range compared to what we usually design, with suits devised for weddings on the beach and others ideal for church ceremonies. Wedding styles differ country by country. This is why I carried out extensive research for each of our markets, resulting in a wide range of looks, also fabrics-wise,” said Francesco Pignatelli, who has followed in the footsteps of his uncle Carlo Pignatelli, the label's founder.
Boosting international visibility
Carlo Pignatelli was founded in Turin in 1968. In a ground-breaking move, the label specialised from the outset in men's occasionwear, effectively opening up a market hitherto non-existent, while also producing womenswear collections. The label's annual revenue is approximately €20 million, and its collections are distributed via 450 multibrand retailers in Europe. The new partnership is expected to boost Carlo Pignatelli's international visibility.
The Pronovias group, owned since 2017 by the BC Partners investment fund, has a slightly longer history than Carlo Pignatelli, having been founded in 1964. The group is based in Barcelona and generates an annual revenue of €160 million. It owns the labels Pronovias, House of St Patrick, White One, Ladybird and Nicole, distributed via 4,000 multibrand retailers in 105 countries, and 102 monobrand stores.
Cavalli indicated that “through this project, and others that will be revealed in the near future, Pronovias intends to invest in order to give the market new impetus.” The bridal wear market has been hit very hard by the pandemic and the serial lockdowns it has triggered, with drastic curtailments on public gatherings.
Last October, Carlo Pignatelli appealed to Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, highlighting the extremely troubled situation of a sector that in Italy is worth nearly €10 billion annually. Pignatelli called for support by the government, considering that “65,000 weddings were cancelled in Italy in 2020 alone, and they haven’t been rescheduled yet.”
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