Kering appoints Nina-Maria Nitsche creative director at Brioni

By

Erin Floyd

Published
Jun 15, 2017

Brioni and Kering have appointed Nina-Maria Nitsche as Creative Director of the House to handle the fashion house's collections and image, the group said on Thursday. The position is effective June 15.

“I am honored to collaborate with the House of Brioni," Nina-Maria Nitsche commented in a statement. "Thanks to its long sartorial history, Brioni has the potential to redefine its position as a unique luxury brand. The House’s philosophy is based on a pioneering approach to menswear. My aim is to reinforce and invigorate this longstanding tradition,” she added of the label, which,founded in Rome in 1945, now features in Kering's portfolio of luxury brands, its acquisition having been finalised in 2012.

Of Brioni's new hire, CEO Fabrizio Malverdi stated: “Ever since I met her in 1996, I have been impressed by her creative approach, starting from a clearly defined concept and then transforming that into products that accurately resonate with the customer. Her point of view will allow the brand’s core values to prosper and yet inject a contemporary dialogue that will enable Brioni to evolve into the future.”

Nitsche joined Maison Martin Margiela in 1989. During her two-decade tenure at the label, she worked alongside Martin Margiela, first as his assistant, eventually taking over the creative direction at the luxury fashion house in 2009 further to the Belgian designer's departure. Nitsche subsequently joined Vetements as collections director to helm the design team in September 2016.

Nitsche will succeed the menswear label's former creative director, Justin O'Shea, whose surprise departure was announced in October 2016 after he presided over the fashion house's artistic direction for a single and turbulent season. Initiatives of the designer, who had no formal training in fashion, included redesigning the store concept and fashioning a new goth logo for the high-end Italian brand, whose suits retail in the thousands of euros. So it comes perhaps as no surprise that Chairman and CEO of Kering François-Henri Pinault is expecting the highly experienced Nitsche "to bring a comprehensive and articulate creative vision to the House," and to "propel Brioni into a new dynamic.”