Rumours that the Colombian designer was headed to the menswear label as Alessandro Sartori’s successor - who left Berluti earlier this year to rejoin Ermenegildo Zegna as the Italian fashion house’s artistic director - started circulating last month. Ackermann, who has helmed his eponymous label – which counts Tilda Swinton and Kanye West among its famous fans - since 2003, will show his first collection for Berluti during the autumn/winter 2017 menswear shows in Paris in January.
Known for his contemporary signature style of layered designs and his use of draping, Ackermann will bring a fresh approach to the luxury brand, which was founded in 1895 as a footwear label and launched its first ready-to-wear collection in 2011.
“Everyone was expecting me to do womenswear, so I wanted to do something else,” the designer – who began his career in womenswear, only adding menswear to his brand 10 years after it launched – told The New York Times following the announcement of his new appointment. “I have another story to tell.”
“It just felt right,” he continued. “Like having a new lover. Men’s is a very interesting world nowadays because the customer wants more of an individual identity. But he also wants timeless, so you are always balancing on that line.”
Antoine Arnault, the chief executive of LVMH - which acquired Berluti in 1993 – is similarly excited by the shift in direction for the brand.
“We very quickly agreed on one vision,” he disclosed to WWD about meeting Ackermann earlier this year. “He had a lot of knowledge about Berluti, and a lot of knowledge about the market and he had a lot of respect for our savoir-faire. His idea of luxury was the same as ours.”
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