Blumarine Appoints Walter Chiapponi as Creative Director

Following Nicola Brognano‘s departure in late October, buzzy Italian Y2K label Blumarine has appointed Walter Chiapponi as Creative Director.

The previous Tod’s designer will guide the brand into a new chapter, showcasing his first Bluemarine collection at Milan Fashion Week in February 2024. Brognano was responsible for putting Blumarine back on the map, gaining a sensual status grounded in ’90s uniforms.

Walter Chiapponi studied fashion design in the 1990s, graduating from IED Istituto Europeo di Design before starting his career at Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s eponymous label N°21. He worked closely with the designer and several industry-leading brands, including Givenchy, Valentino, Gucci, Miu Miu, and Bottega Veneta. Chiapponi exited Tod’s earlier this year, showing his final collection at Milan Fashion Week in September.

In a statement released this morning, Marco Marchi, Director of Eccellenze Italiane, Blumarine’s parent company, said:

“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. I am proud to write a new and important chapter with Walter.”

“I am delighted to have been appointed Creative Director of an iconic Italian brand that has outlined over time an idea of femininity that is defined by lightness and creativity. The possibility of contributing to establishing a new phase for Blumarine is for me an opportunity to embrace new thrilling and important horizons, to expand my vision and to restore sense to artistic expression,” Chiapponi adds.

Elsewhere, Balenciaga opens first storefront in India.
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