Thursday, May 11, 2017

Roberto Cavalli Appoints Creative Director

Roberto Cavalli has appointed Paul Surridge as its creative director, following Peter Dundas's departure from the role last October.

British designer Surridge studied at Central Saint Martins, before moving on to work at Calvin Klein in the Nineties, Burberry (under Christopher Bailey) and Jil Sander (under Raf Simons) in the Noughties, and most recently Z Zegna, where he was creative director and Acne Studios, where he acted as a creative consultant. His new role will see him take responsibility for "all of the group’s brands and for all creative functions", a statement confirmed this morning, with his first outing for the brand slated to take place during the spring/summer 2018 showcase at Milan Fashion Week this September.

“I am honoured and proud to carry forward the legacy of this extraordinary Italian house," said Surridge today. "This is a unique opportunity to contribute a new chapter to the Roberto Cavalli universe, which positively celebrates the beauty, sensuality and power of women. It is my intention to show the passion I share for the codes and vision on which Roberto Cavalli built his brand while celebrating the excellence of Italian craftsmanship."


There has been plenty of upheaval at the Italian fashion house over the last year. Following his appointment as creative director in March 2015, Peter Dundas departed after 19 months in the role, shortly after CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris joined from Versace. The brand released a statement shortly after, announcing that it would be undergoing a significant restructure - including redundancies - news of which was met with upset and the threat of action from employees. The company reached an agreement with its employees last December.

“I have worked with Paul, and I had the opportunity to appreciate his creative talent as well as his managerial abilities," said Ferraris today. "Paul has a 360-degree vision on brands and branding. He is passionate, mature and an amazing team player. We all believe that he is the ideal candidate to complete our management team and contribute to implementing the ambitious development plans for Roberto Cavalli, which we have agreed with our stakeholders."

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