LONDON, United Kingdom — Burberry has named Riccardo Tisci its new creative officer, effective March 12, 2018. Tisci succeeds Christopher Bailey, who announced his departure in October 2017, after 17 years at the brand.
Tisci joins the British megabrand after more than a decade as creative director at Givenchy, where he is credited with resurrecting the LVMH-owned couture house with his dark, sensual and subversive collections. The Italian designer left the brand on January 31, 2017 when his contract ended. He was replaced by Clare Waight Keller.
In his new role, Tisci will be based in London and direct all of Burberry’s collections, presenting his first outing for the brand in September 2018.
“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. Riccardo’s creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury,” said Marco Gobetti, Burberry’s chief executive who joined the company on July 5, 2017, from LVMH-owned Céline.
“I have an enormous respect for Burberry’s British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand,” added Tisci. “I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry and reuniting with Marco Gobbetti.”
Indeed, this is not the first time Tisci and Gobbetti have worked together. Gobetti, who was previously president and chief executive at Givenchy from 2004 to 2008, was responsible for hiring the designer, who was then relatively unknown. Tisci breathed much-needed life into Givenchy’s womenswear, menswear and accessories.
Taking Burberry Upmarket
Since joining Burberry in 2001, Bailey worked with former chief executive Rose Marie Bravo and her successor Angela Ahrendts to save the British stalwart — best known for its classic, durable trench coats — from a period of brand dilution.
During his tenure, Burberry became a new star of the global luxury industry. By 2011, the company was generating £1.5 billion in revenue — a 27 percent increase over the previous year — with a market capitalisation of £5.8 billion. That was twice the rate of growth of LVMH’s revenue and market value over the same period. At the same time, Burberry gained recognition for its digital savvy. But it’s no secret that in recent years Burberry has struggled to maintain its momentum, with the company’s sales growth lagging its peers.
Last November, Gobbetti outlined an ambitious three-pronged plan to elevate the British brand’s positioning, placing the label “firmly in the luxury segment, the most enduring and rewarding part of the industry.” As part of the strategy, Gobbetti plans to enhance the brand’s leather goods offering, bring greater newness to its collections, tighten distribution by scaling back its lower-end wholesale partnerships, refresh stores and use its reputation as a digital innovator to better communicate its new product offering.
“By re-energising our product and customer experience to establish our position firmly in luxury, we will play in the most rewarding, enduring segment of the market,” Gobbetti said in a statement that coincided with the announcement of first-half results for the 2017 fiscal year.
Tisci left his hometown of Taranto in southern Italy to study at Central Saint Martins in London, graduating in 1999. In September 2004, he set up an eponymous ready-to-wear label, showing his first collection in Milan for the Autumn/Winter 2005 season. The show caught the attention of Gobetti, who hired Tisci to replace Julien Macdonald as creative director of Givenchy in February 2005.
Bailey will step down from Burberry’s board on March 31, 2018.
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