trussardi



Under the frescoed ceilings of Milan’s 18th-century Palazzo Clerici, Trussardi’s creative directors Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby said their intention is “to build a wardrobe that makes sense for the new Trussardi.” To that end they paraded a collection that included staples such as polo shirts and cotton and linen V-neck knitwear and further developed the bread-and-butter accessories of the storied brand, which is marking 111 years in business.

Indeed, they are moving Trussardi’s aesthetic in a more contemporary direction — their designs reflecting their values, such as inclusivity and diversity. This season, they felt they should focus on female empowerment. “It feels like too many forces are trying to limit women’s autonomy, people are scared of powerful women and this is very much on our mind,” said Işık.

This translated into suits with strong shoulders, but also into a defiant femininity, seen in jersey, draped and shimmering dresses with twisted necklines and cascading hemlines. Ruches, slits and ruffles added movement to floor-length satin gowns.  

The designers are on trend, as they showed several denim looks, worn head-to-toe and jazzed up by 3D crystals or a plethora of pockets or cutouts, relying on the brand’s tradition and history with the fabric. 

While the idea of contrasting the modern take on a storied brand with a stately palazzo is understandable, the ornate salons somewhat jarred with the looks, which at times seemed lost. Perhaps they will be better displayed in the nearby Trussardi palazzo, which is being overhauled by the company and where they showed last season — despite the unfinished walls and scaffolding.

For men, they showed faux embossed crocodile trenches in a rich chocolate hue or in an over-bomber jacket paired with a ruched miniskirt as well as in wide-legged pants. Their light tailored suits in linen were spot-on. The monokini straps peeking out of the garments on both men’s and women’s looks felt a little gimmicky, though.

The designers spun the revisited greyhound logo, dating back to 1973, on hardware details on wedged heeled satin slippers. 

They emphasized Trussardi’s accessories heritage by showing several bags, including a new hobo bag design, the Meroe, in black, white or light blue leather and coated canvas combinations with silver greyhound ring hardware and a wide shoulder strap.

A drawstring pouch in yellow satin was inspired by an archive evening bag design from the ’90s.

SHANGHAI — Off-White is the latest international fashion brand to scale back its China operations after the country’s key cities went through months-long COVID-19 lockdowns.According to local media reports, the label founded by the late Virgil Abloh recently shut down four stores in Shanghai, Chengdu and Xi’an.
The brand still operates seven stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Shenyang and Chengdu.
The store inside Shanghai’s upscale Réel Mall has been replaced with Totême, WWD observed on Tuesday. The only store that remains open in Shanghai is located in Galeries Lafayette Shanghai, which is operated by I.T, the same local retail partner as Off-White.
Both Off-White and I.T did not respond immediately to WWD’s requests for comment.

Industry experts believe the brand remains popular in second- and third-tier cities, but as its China franchise operator I.T goes through a retail reorganization post-lockdown, Off-White’s retail future remains up in the air.

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When Off-White entered the market in 2017, the pop-culture association quickly ignited the interest of young hypebeasts.
The brand expanded to 16 stores by the end of 2020. Its marketing initiatives included a focus on exclusive and limited product offerings in China. But at the time, local media outlets discovered that Off-White-related content is highly associated with keywords like “discount” on Xiaohongshu, the popular social-commerce app.
According to local retail insiders, despite quickly expanding its retail network, the brand fell short on localized branding and content creation.
“Shoppers didn’t truly get the vibe of Off-White to begin with, and in China, the cost of forgetting is extremely low,” said a fashion buyer of a well-known retail operator in Shanghai.

Backstage at Trussardi RTW Fall 2022

Daniele Mango/WWD

But Off-White isn’t alone. Italian luxury label Trussardi also decided to suspend direct operations in China recently. The brand is in the process of closing one directly operated store but retains its franchise and wholesale business in China.
“The strategy has evolved in light of the changing context in the market,” Sebastian Suhl, the brand’s chief executive officer, told WWD at the time.
“The pandemic impacted the whole retail landscape for brands in every segment. That’s the negative side of the story,” said real estate operator URF’s chairman and founder Dickson Szeto.
“But on the other hand, we see brands with a positive attitude that have taken branding and storytelling to the next level. That’s why we also see companies like OTB doubling down on the market. They can capture the opportunities presented by clients who couldn’t travel abroad to shop,” added Szeto.

A look from Nanushka for resort 2023.

Courtesy

Samuel Ross’ fashion venture A-Cold-Wall, Sequoia Capital China-backed South Korean fashion brand We11done, as well as Alexandre Mattiussi’s Ami, British handbag brand By Far, Polish underground club kid favorite Misbhv, and Hungarian label Nanushka under Vanguard Group are some entrants gearing up for brick-and-mortar store launches in the Chinese market this year.
Meanwhile, Holzweiler, the Scandinavian brand recently backed by Sequoia Capital China, plans to open a Tmall store this fall, according to market sources.

Angelica Cheung, venture partner at the firm and founding editor of Vogue China, who just relocated from Beijing to Hong Kong with her family, believes Holzweiler has “a huge opportunity to expand to other parts of the world, especially at a time when audiences value nature, the outdoors, and human connection more than ever before.”

Suzanne, Andreas and Maria Skappel Holzweiler.

Courtesy of Holzweiler

In a post-lockdown China, shifts in consumer attitudes have created space for new players that can fulfill shoppers’ changing style needs.
“Consumer’s emotions are increasingly complex and volatile after the pandemic, leading to more eclectic aesthetic needs,” said Xueying Sun, WGSN China’s senior editor. “We see a return to classics and practicality, and at the same time a call for extremely trendy and artistic designs.”
Sun thinks niche brands need to produce products with “flexible design elements with traffic driving features.”
Szeto said brands “can’t ‘lie flat,’ but must aggressively maintain a positive online attitude, or online storytelling approach.”
For Shanghai-based Julio Ng, executive director of the fashion showroom Seiya Nakamura 2.24, which represents more than 40 brands including Rick Owens, Christopher Kane, Dion Lee, Ganni, Marine Serre, Peter Do, Stefan Cooke and Tomo Koizumi, niche brands must also constantly reinvent their hero products to keep the surprise alive.
“Consumers in China right now have the money to spend. The best way to improve and experience fashion is to spend the money to buy it, wear it and try it,” said Ng.
“But once it’s been worn, its photo has been taken or posted on social media, the value of the pieces decreases. So designers have to reinvent their so-called signature pieces constantly. That’s the most important part,” he added.

Eli Russell Linnetz of ERL.

Dominique MAITRE/WWD

To maintain momentum, Ng thinks brands need to pick up the pace with fresh product releases.
“When the market is saturated, and a brand has not been able to reinvent those bestselling styles, it very often leads to a decline in wholesale. And once that happens, it basically just collapsed everywhere,” said Ng.
Both Szeto and Ng suggest young niche brands take on “short-term activities” such as pop-ups or brand-related in-store activities to make some noise in the market when it reaches peak influence.

For example, the Shanghai-based concept store ENG plans to launch a pop-up for Eli Russell Linnetz’s namesake label ERL this September, while Marine Serre is looking into similar activations in the market.
“But we realized that an installation at a store is not enough. What’s more important is how these installation or community programs tie back to the brand and each of the retailers, VIP customers, or followers,” said Ng.
Initial brand building means maintaining a healthy relationship with seed customers, which includes local celebrities, influencers and VIPs, who will become an asset for niche players to help with organic growth.

Marine Serre, spring 2023

Courtesy of Primexposureimage/Ma

“The brands need to make these people feel like they are a part of the brand family, they are cared for, this is also an important attitude to communicate,” said Szeto.
When the brand sees enough traffic on social media and e-commerce sites like Tmall, there’s a window of time to establish a permanent retail presence in the market.
“Normally, I would say if you reach 1 million euros in wholesale orders in China alone, you can consider finding a Taobao Partner company to set up a Tmall International or Tmall Local online store,” said Ng.
“But if you don’t reach that amount, I would say don’t even think about it, because even though if you set it up, you know you end up spending a lot of money for digital and offline marketing. And you might not even see any sort of payoff,” he added.

MILAN — After two pandemic-disrupted years, the 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile furniture and design trade show closed Sunday on an upbeat note.The weeklong trade show drew 262,608 attendees at the Rho-Fiera fairgrounds, 61 percent of them hailing from abroad, to discover the latest collections by 2,175 exhibitors. The attendance tally compares with more than 386,000 visitors in 2019.
The overall sentiment was positive as highlighted by Claudio Feltrin, president of industry association FederlegnoArredo, who praised the fair’s better-than-expected outcome. The executive touted design companies’ resilience and investment prowess and sounded optimistic about prospects despite the current geopolitical instability and supply chain challenges.

“The sector is witnessing a transformation process within society, spurred by the pandemic, that had people rediscover the value of their houses… it’s not a volatile trend, it’s a structural change,” he said.

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While the city center was animated with cocktail receptions, glamorous parties as part of Milan Design Week’s roster of side events, reportedly attracting 400,000 visitors in town, most of the business action happened at the fair.
Reflecting the brisk activity, in 2021 sales of high-end design furnishings reached 40 billion euros, up 14 percent versus 2020 and 7 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
According to an Altagamma and Bain & Co. market monitor, the sector is poised to reach 60 billion euros in revenues in 2026 leveraging the second wave of urbanization in China and a growing trend for the wealthiest in the U.S. to move out of cities, a phenomenon described as “wealth ruralization.
As suggested by luxury goods executives, homes are becoming tools of self-expression and customers are looking for functional and hybrid spaces serving different purposes, from shelter to hospitality and work.
Claudia D’Arpizio, senior partner and global head of fashion and luxury at Bain & Co., said after a decade-long underperformance compared to other luxury sectors, the category is booming in light of customers’ renewed interest in their homes.
“In this context, the sector’s companies are required to strategically retool, evolving from manufacturers into retailers to tap into evolving consumption trends, embedding rental options and circularity,” D’Arpizio explained.
There is a growing appetite for branded products, too, which could give way to a renewed interest for luxury brands’ home and furniture divisions, as well as branded residential complexes.
Here, WWD rounds up some of the latest home and furniture collections by fashion luxury brands seen at the fairgrounds.
Diesel Living
Bulking up its home furnishings offerings, Diesel Living returned to the trade show with a trippy-themed collection, as Andrea Rosso, creative director of the OTB brand’s design division, put it.
“We observed that customers are looking for high quality in their private homes, in the lighting and arrangement choices, for example, and in the renewed attention to energy consumption and to sustainability,” Rosso said. “Home décor choices are geared toward well-being and wellness,” he added.

The Diesel executive noted that the experience with the branded residential complex in Miami’s Wynwood district provided additional insight and in light of the upcoming Diesel apartments to bow in Las Vegas’ Arts District, the home division is expected to grow further.
Diesel Living generates 60 to 70 percent of its business in Europe and the remainder in North America. He forecast revenues will increase 20 percent in 2022 compared to the year prior.

The Diesel Living booth at Salone del Mobile in June 2022.
Alessandro Paderni/Courtesy of Diesel Living

Relying on its long-standing partnerships with Lodes for lamps; Moroso for furniture; Scavolini for kitchens; Iris Ceramica for tiles; Berti for flooring; Seletti for tableware; luxury home textile producer Mirabello Carrara, and the recently added Wall&Decò for wallpapers, the brand has expanded its universe.
The 2022 collection was all about psychedelia and included Cloudscape wallpapers and sofas, the latter developed with Moroso using recycled polyester velvet and recycled cotton, as well as a special edition sofa crafted from the same distressed denim with a furry effect that appeared on Diesel’s fall 2022 runway.
A punkish aesthetic resonated in the new lamps, such as Rod with a stem in the shape of a construction tool and Spring, its structure inspired by safety pins. Nodding to the “social house” concept, which will be core to the Las Vegas condo development, the Get Together kitchen developed with Scavolini embeds Diesel’s industrial details, while the latest addition to the tiles collection is Pluriball, a ceramic rendition of the namesake material. Tableware with Seletti had dining sets acid-washed to achieve cosmic patterns.
Roberto Cavalli
At Roberto Cavalli, the “Queen of Cavalli Chair” design conceived by the brand’s creative consultant Fausto Puglisi took the spotlight. A limited-edition item available in 20 pieces, the chair was defined by a neoclassical frame in carved wood and with a black matte finish, which was jazzed up with upholstery splashed with key prints of the brand’s recent fashion collections. These included the label’s signature animal patterns, here rendered in vibrant hues such as yellow, purple, emerald green and fire red. Behind the backrest, each chair carried a metal plaque engraved with the name of the capsule collection and a serial number.

Queen of Cavalli Chair.
Courtesy of Roberto Cavalli

In addition to this exclusive design, which was also showcased at the brand’s flagship store in Via Montenapoleone, the Roberto Cavalli Home Interiors collections included new furniture such as the Assal leather sofa with animal printed cushions in matching neutral color as well as the Turkana and Ragali side tables made in the new gray Versilys marble.
Roberto Cavalli Home Interiors is licensed to Oniro Group since 2011, but the fashion house also has licenses for tiles, wallpaper, linens and tableware with Gruppo Cerdisa Ricchetti, Industrie Emiliana Parati, Mirabello Carrara and Arnolfo di Cambio – Compagnia Italiana del Cristallo, respectively. New products under these categories also featured pop animalier prints and opulent Baroque patterns.
Philipp Plein
Philipp Plein banked on Salone del Mobile to unveil its first home and furniture collection developed under license with Eichholtz.
As part of the brand’s most recent investments across fields including hospitality and Web3, it comes as no surprise that the designer and entrepreneur has tapped into the burgeoning and lucrative branded furniture market, offering its signature bold aesthetics and flamboyant style, with 3,800 euro dining chairs upholstered in colorful velvet and 12,000 euro dining tables with an integrated golden palm tree.
“It’s the result of work done with a high-quality partner,” said Carmine Rotondaro, adviser to the Philipp Plein Group. “We have talked with several players over the past years before finding the right partner, but everybody highlighted how the market was booming in terms of sales and CRM opportunities.”
Eichholtz, a business-to-business operator, found in Plein the ideal consumer-facing partner, Rotondaro said. On the other hand, the businessman sees the category as spurring “brand awareness and customers’ recruitment.”
“This is a very important lever to consolidate the brand and a touchstone signaling Plein’s appeal and value,” he said.
The 140-piece collection, which includes velvet sofas punctuated with golden studs, handblown glass lighting and logoed mirrors embedded with NFTs, is complemented by wallpapers developed under license with Italy-based specialist Zambaiti Parati.

The Philipp Plein home and furniture ad campaign.
Ellen von Unwerth/Courtesy of Philipp Plein

The lineup caters to high-spending clients with bold tastes and Rotondaro outlined a strategy that sees the home division tapping into different geographies with the U.S. accounting for 10 percent of the business, Russian speaking countries for 15 to 17 percent, the Germany, Austria and Switzerland, or DACH, area for 15 percent and the rest of the world, especially the Far East, for 45 percent.
“Plein’s creativity has always trickled down to home and furniture. His ‘places,’ be it his houses, shops or showrooms, have always boasted a distinctive look,” Rotondaro said.
Asked about unveiling furniture in the metaverse where the brand has been making bullish investments, Rotondaro said: “We’re not there yet, nor the [metaverse] experience is ripe enough for this…but never say never.”
Etro
Etro’s love of colorful prints was toned down a bit for the brand’s home collection, which had exotic undertones and a vintage charm. The palette veered more toward neutral shades lit up with gold and sage green details, while carvalho wood, canaletto walnut wood enriched with golden details, marble, bronze and brass were employed as key materials.
This season Etro introduced an outdoor collection of seats with an iron structure made to look like bamboo canes. The natural theme ran throughout the collection, as the feet of the Delfi bed with the brass and button-tufted frame were also shaped like bamboo canes.

Etro’s Delfi bed.
courtesy of Etro

Etro’s paisley signature pattern lent its shape to the backrest and seat of the Shiraz chair and the Berenice chaise longue showed a light structure in a bronzed finish with cast brass decorative rings.
The Mekong sofa combined exotic nuances with a 1950s vintage-inspired design, with its curved lines reminiscent of the Asian trans-boundary river.
Elie Saab
With its home division launched only two years ago in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, Elie Saab Maison is gaining momentum and establishing itself in a new category.
In partnership with Swiss home design company Corporate Brand Maison, Elie Saab launched its 2022 collection during Milan Design Week in three different venues, each one with a distinct concept: the “Seduction of Design” showcased at the brand’s showroom in Via Sant’Andrea, the “Theater of Mirrors” at the trade show center and “Le Privè” in Via Martini.

Pieces from Elie Saab Maison’s Edhen outdoor collection.
Image courtesy

Chief executive officer Elie Saab Jr. believes that the home collection gives the brand the opportunity to “go beyond the fashion label” and “complete the identity of the brand.” The license with CB Maison was signed in 2019, while the collection was launched during the lockdown in 2020. Despite the adversity caused by the pandemic, the brand registered steady growth.
“2021 was a great year for Elie Saab and during the first six months of 2022 we doubled the business. We noticed that because of the pandemic, our clients really invested in their homes, many changed houses for a bigger one so they needed renovation and restyling,” stated Massimiliano Ferrari, CEO of corporate brand Maison.
During Salone del Mobile, the fashion company also presented for the first time “Edhen,” its outdoor furniture, which caters to changing lifestyles and the desire to spend more time outdoors. Ferrari noted that “many of our clients bought villas or larger homes with gardens and patios during these two years of pandemic, so we noticed that they wanted to have outdoor furniture that could be stylish, elegant and cool.”
As working from home became more widespread during the pandemic, Ferraris said “customers are choosing the room in the house with the best view as their office. This is why this year, we decided to launch furniture for the office that can be personified and extendable.”

Elie Saab’s Maison Claire desk.
Image courtesy

The collection is produced in Italy’s Brianza area — a key furniture hub in the country — and the company is evolving its sourcing of materials and the use of automatic systems in its lighting that will drastically reduce energy consumption.
Moreover, the brand has ventured into real estate with the completion of residential properties in Dubai (April 2019), Cairo (November 2021), London (December 2021) and Vietnam (June 2022) and will be investing in hospitality projects within the next year.
Missoni
At the Salone del Mobile trade show, Missoni launched its new tableware collection, in line with the trend of luxury houses increasingly banking on the category. The range was displayed at the booth of Arnolfo di Cambio – Compagnia Italiana del Cristallo, the historic Italian company that has specialized in tableware since 1963, now Missoni’s new licensee. Crafted from materials such as fine bone china, blown glass and silver stainless steel, the collection encompassed teacups, mugs, dinner sets, glasses, vases and knick-knacks, all decorated in the brand’s signature multicolored patterns, including stripes and the zigzag motif. Cutlery was also embellished, with the graphics engraved on handles.

Pieces from the Missoni tableware collection.
Courtesy of Missoni

Along with tableware, Missoni introduced the “Gifting Capsule” range, also designed by Alberto Caliri, the new creative director of the division supervised by Rosita Missoni, after Filippo Grazioli took over the creative helm of the brand’s fashion lines earlier this year.
The limited-edition capsule collection included disparate items that ranged from soft armchairs and poufs to terry bathrobes and bags, as well as patchwork fabric coffee tables and stuffed animals. Coming in different patterns, colors and sizes, they made for unique pieces crafted from Missoni archival fabrics.

The Missoni “Welcome back dreams” installation.
Courtesy of Missoni

Scaled up to giant proportions, stuffed animals were also the protagonists of the two impressive installations Missoni staged in its showroom in the artsy Brera district and in the courtyard of the Università Statale university, dubbed “Welcome back dreams” and “Mega-Verso,” respectively.
Missoni’s joyful geometric patterns additionally covered the Kartell “Eleganza” chair designed by Philippe Starck — the result of a special tie-up between the fashion house and the Italian furniture company.

The Eleganza Missoni chair.
Courtesy of Kartell

Trussardi 
For this year’s Milan Design Week, Trussardi creative directors Benjamin A. Huseby and Serhat Işık teamed with three designers to create a one-of-a-kind home capsule collection, showcased at the Palazzo Trussardi venue in Piazza della Scala as part of a cultural exchange.
For the collection, Mark Grattan created a coffee table, an upholstered bench, a couch and a mirror using materials such as velvet and stainless steel. The designer is known for his unconventional and one-of-a-kind pieces and his home in Mexico City has become a mecca for interior designers. He added a European and Milanese flair to the collection, thanks to the inclusion of neutral tones and the predominance of gray. “Infiltrating the European market and expanding my reach makes me feel so grateful,” he said.

A piece from Trussardi’s capsule collection with Mark Grattan.
Courtesy image / Federico Torra

The chair created by the Brazilian and Milanese-based sculptor Kiri-Una Brito Meumann explores the artist’s cultural heritage and the use of materials coming from her native country, including natural rubber and cream silicone aged over several years. “The inspiration came whilst I was staying in Una, a small town in Bahia, Brazil last December. I spent most of the days crowded around the table full of food and family members and I realized that the most used chair is the dining chair,” explained the designer.

The chair created for Trussardi’s home capsule collection with Kiri-Una Brito Meumann.
Courtesy image / Federico Torra

With his creation “Eclipse,” a mirror that resembles the “on/off” button on many devices, Prem Sahib wondered if the object reflects or conceals? “Does it appear ‘on’ or ‘off’? Is it looking back?” he asked.

“Eclipse” by Prem Sahib created for Trussardi’s home collection.
Courtesy image / Federico Torra

This provocative and metaphorical creation was created using obsidian, a black volcanic glass the artist discovered “for the first time at the archeological excavation in Pompei.”

MILAN — Trussardi is banking on a cool design duo to write the next chapter of the storied brand.
The Milan-based company has appointed Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby as new creative directors of the brand, tasked with overseeing all aspects of design, image and branding. Their first collection for Trussardi will bow for fall 2022.
Işık and Huseby are known for their own label, the Berlin-based GmbH, launched in 2016, and which they plan to continue to design.
Trussardi touted the designers’ commitment to inclusivity and their “socially engaged perspective.”
“Serhat and Benjamin bring a distinctive and powerful vision to Trussardi,” said chief executive officer Sebastian Suhl. “The team and I are profoundly excited to embark on this journey with them, in view of bringing a contemporary and responsible lifestyle experience to the market.”

In a statement, the designers said jointly that “Trussardi comes charged with pedigree and enormous untapped potential. We were drawn to the possibility of building a house anew.”
GmbH is rooted in underground club culture, but in January, reviewing the brand’s men’s fall 2021 collection, WWD said the designers played with gender boundaries, focusing on sensual necklines inspired by mid-century haute couture, and that the label was launching its first full range of vegan shoes and accessories. This was not the designers’ first steps into sustainability, which is a key element in their collections. For fall 2020, they presented looks that ranged from body-con knitted dresses with cutouts for women to off-the-shoulder ribbed tops for men and most fabrics were either recycled, organic or biodegradable. The leather jackets and coats, for example, were made of a corn-based material.

All of GmbH’s principally gender-fluid collections connect together into a larger narrative, involving both men and women, but in September 2018 GmbH introduced its first complete women’s wear line, with 22 looks.
Işık is a first-generation German of Turkish descent and Huseby, of Norwegian-Pakistani heritage, grew up in Norway. Işık, who had been teaching fashion at the university in Berlin, was making collections on a noncommercial basis. Huseby had been a photographer and artist, who as a child sketched fashion looks and made his own clothes as a teenager. Cultural mixes and a sense of otherness have informed GmbH, and the city and cultural scene of Berlin have also shaped their approach.
Last July, for their men’s spring 2021 collection, the designers screened the movie “A Season of Migration to the North,” a work by artist Lars Laumann that tells the story of gay activist Eddie Esmail, who was arrested while taking part in a fashion show in Sudan and subsequently sought asylum in Norway.
“It touches on everything GmbH is about: politics, migration, fashion and beauty, but also queerness,” Huseby said at the time. “Obviously, staging a fashion show in Sudan was clearly a very subversive political act. And I think that’s the beauty, that fashion isn’t only just about nice clothes.” Last year, GmbH was a finalist for the Woolmark Prize.
The appointment at Trussardi of Işık and Huseby is a sign that the owners are taking the Italian brand into a new direction.

Trussardi has not had a creative director since Gaia Trussardi’s exit in 2018. She joined the family’s business in 2011 as creative director of the Tru Trussardi younger brand. In March 2013, she succeeded Umit Benan Sahin at the helm of the Trussardi main line. Before tapping Benan Sahin in 2011, the Trussardi label was designed by creative director Milan Vukmirovic, who had joined the brand in 2007.
Following Gaia Trussardi’s exit, Trussardi launched the Archive+Now project in 2019, re-conceptualizing the heritage of the historic house, and curating a new edit with a modern perspective.
The first collaboration was with Giulia and Camilla Venturini, the designers behind the Medea handbag brand. That was followed by a partnership with Instagram account @Checking_Invoices and then with Giorgio Di Salvo’s brand United Standard. Last July the brand teamed with London-based artistic duo Fiona Sinha and Aleksandar Stanic, who developed a spring 2021 men’s and women’s collection that reinterpreted Trussardi’s signature style codes.
Trussardi has been going through some changes since Italian independent asset management company QuattroR, chaired by Andrea Morante and which specializes in corporate restructuring, took a controlling stake in the company in 2019. Tomaso Trussardi, son of the late Nicola, is chairman of the company, which was founded by his great-grandfather Dante in 1911.
Suhl joined Trussardi last October from Valentino, succeeding Maela Mandelli.
“QuattroR seeks to buy Italian companies that have a history, a glorious past, and sustainable brands that are facing financial difficulties or complex generational shifts, and that need a relaunch or a repositioning,” explained at the time of the acquisition Morante, who has longstanding experience as an investment banker and in fashion, and who is chairman of Sergio Rossi as well as a former CEO of Pomellato. “We choose the sectors in Italy where the industry is more present and competitive, such as consumer goods and fashion, which are interesting for the country.”
Morante said that QuattroR was especially interested in Trussardi given its relevance in shaping Made in Italy’s history and the luxury goods sector, and in particular he touted the foresight of Nicola Trussardi, Tomaso’s father.