Brioni creative director Nina-Maria Nitsche exits label

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Jennifer Braun

Published
Jul 27, 2018

Nina-Maria Nitsche has exited Brioni. Less than a year after being appointed head of creative direction at the luxury menswear brand owned by Kering Group, the German designer is already on her way out, the fashion house announced in a brief statement. No further details were released. 

The group emphasized that "the revitalization of Brioni initiated by Nitsche during this period will continue as part of a long-term development plan".

Largely affected by the retail crisis and years of decline, with particularly bad profitability, the brand embarked two years ago upon a large restructuring, which is on track, according to a statement made by Kering executives during the group's most recent financial results.

Judging by the ongoing game of musical chairs by its leaders and designers however, the Italian tailor seems to have had great difficulty staying consistent and relevant in the current market. Its managing director, Fabrizio Malverdi, took over Brioni in March 2017, succeeding Gianluca Flore, who had held the position for less than three years.

On the creative side, two creative directors have succeeded each other in just two years. Last year, Nina-Maria Nitsche replaced Justin O'Shea, who left the label after just one season. The former fashion director of online sales site Mytheresa had been recruited to bring new life to the menswear brand. But his appointment was obviously a casting mistake. Before him, British designer Brendan Mullane held the position from 2012 to 2016, and had begun an attempt to modernize and refresh the Brioni brand.

Nina-Maria Nitsche, who only created two collections, the last of which was for spring/summer 2019, presented in Paris in June, had brought Brioni back on track with a certain grandeur. Maybe too much? Obviously, Brioni is still trying to find itself.