Daily Mail

Burberry picks racy Italian to make it great again

- by Hannah Uttley

BRITAIN’S biggest luxury brand Burberry has appointed an Italian famed for making racy outfits for Madonna and other stars.

Riccardo Tisci, 43, is the surprise choice to replace Burberry’s chief creative officer Christophe­r Bailey, who is stepping down after 17 years and presented his last range at London Fashion Week last month. Tisci, who has designed outfits for Rihanna, Madonna ( pictured right with Tisci), Kim Kardashian ( above) and Beyonce, joins Burberry from Italian haute couture house Givenchy, where he was creative director for 12 years.

He also designed the wedding dress for socialite and reality TV star Kardashian when she married pop star Kanye West.

At Givenchy he carved a romantic and racy style with lace and gothic touches featuring heavily in its shows. Tisci, raised a Catholic with his eight sisters, has used his religion as inspiratio­n.

Many expected Burberry to appoint Phoebe Philo as lead designer – her departure from French fashion house Celine in december sparked rumours that she was leaving to join the British firm. despite being unexpected, investors appeared to take Tisci’s appointmen­t in their stride as shares rose as much as 6.4pc, ending the day 3.8pc higher at 1592p.

Analysts issued a flurry of notes praising Burberry’s appointmen­t, noting a ‘ strong track record’ of growing Givenchy’s sales.

It could be the lift that Burberry needs, as a decision to take the firm more upmarket prompted queries about strategy.

Tisci graduated from London’s prestigiou­s Central Saint Martins College of Art and design in 1999 and was appointed by Givenchy after his first collection for 2005/2006 at Milan Fashion Week.

Brokers at Barclays said: ‘The timing of this announceme­nt may come as a nice surprise to some, as Bailey just showed his last collection at the fall/winter 18 fashion show, therefore there might be a short overlap/handover period between Tisci and Bailey before the latter steps down in March.’

Analysts at Bank of Canada noted that while Givenchy is a much smaller brand, generating revenues of £355m compared to £ 2.8bn at Burberry, he has enjoyed the backing of Givenchy’s owners LVMH for a number of years.

‘The most important thing is that Tisci seems to be a good fit to Burberry’s medium-term ambition to position itself firmly in luxury, with more fashion content and stronger presence in accessorie­s.’ Tisci has worked with Burberry chief executive Marco Gobbetti, who headed Givenchy from 2004 to 2008.

Gobbetti said: ‘Riccardo is one of the most talented designers of our time. His designs have an elegance that is contempora­ry and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today’s luxury consumer. His creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury.’

Tisci said: ‘I have an enormous respect for Burberry’s British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptiona­l brand.’

He presents his debut collection for Burberry in September.

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