The designer will take on the role just one month after Nicola Brognano’s exit.
After announcing the departure of Nicola Brognano — who served as Creative Director since 2020 — Blumarine has officially named his replacement.
Walter Chiapponi is stepping into the Blumarine role and will show his first collection for the label during Milan Fashion Week in February, as reported by Business of Fashion.
Chiapponi previously served as the creative director of Tod’s, overseeing its menswear and womenswear design teams. He left the brand in July.
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“I am confident that Walter Chiapponi, with his internationally recognized talent and his fine stylistic sensibility, will bring new energy to Blumarine while honoring the brand’s extraordinary heritage,” said the director of Eccellenze Italiane, the holding company that owns Blumarine, Marco Marchi, in a statement.
Chiapponi’s final collection for Tod’s and overall aesthetic at the Italian label leaned into lots of suiting and shape silhouettes — a very different style than the Y2K-ified, fluid energy Brogano used to define Blumarine over the last four years. Only time will tell how Chiapponi’s previous sophisticated and polished design techniques will meld with the flashy and more relaxed vibe now synonymous with Blumarine.
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