GLAMWIRE DATELINE APRIL 2, 2008

A New Team at Ferre: House Taps 6267 Duo as Creative Directors

MILAN ? Gianfranco Ferr?pA hopes two will be better than one.

The Italian fashion house on Tuesday tapped the 6267 duo Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi as creative directors. The appointment confirms a Glamwire report last month.

Aquilano and Rimondi will replace Lars Nilsson, who left Ferr?n February before he even completed his first collection for the house. Their initial effort will bow for spring 2009.

In a phone interview, Aquilano said he and Rimondi were “proud and happy” about their new role, describing Ferr?who died in June, as a legend. Aquilano underscored Ferr? knowledge of fabrics, materials and structures.

While shying away from drawing comparisons with Ferr? style, Aquilano said he and Rimondi shared a passion for fabric innovation, volumes and structures with the designer, who trained as an architect. “We hope we can be worthy of him,” said Aquilano, adding the brand has the potential to be further developed in many different areas.

“We are happy to approach another entirely Italian brand, a historical label that is tremendously interesting for the international market,” said Aquilano. “We can only learn from Ferr?

At the same time, Aquilano said he and Rimondi see their new role as a means to “evolve [themselves] and the maison and look forward.”

The designers have quickly garnered media and commercial recognition with their 6267 line, which was launched in 2005, and have been pivotal in the relaunch of the Malo brand, owned by IT Holding Group, which also controls Ferr?The designers will no longer design Malo, which they joined in July 2006, a brand Aquilano and Rimondi care deeply for. “Although this new project is more exciting, there is some nostalgia in leaving the brand,” said Aquilano.

Tonino Perna, chairman and chief executive officer of IT Holding SpA, said he was convinced “the talent of the designers, recognized at an international level, will allow them to interpret Gianfranco Ferr? aesthetical codes to enhance the extraordinary potential of this brand while respecting its excellence and contemporary sophistication.”

Michela Piva, ceo of Gianfranco Ferr?pA, said the designers “easily move between cool classic and a modern femininity,” and pointed to “their rigorous designs and confident sense of quality,” which Ferr?lso possessed.

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