Adrian Appiolaza is Moschino’s new creative chief

Moschino has named Adrian Appiolaza as its new Creative Director, in charge of the women’s, men’s and accessories collections. His appointment follows the tragic death of David Renne last November who had only been in the role for just over a week.

His replacement is an Argentinean who has worked extensively in Europe, with Aeffe Group Executive Chairman Massimo Ferretti, to whom Appiolaza will report, saying he “brings with him a unique wealth of experience, creativity, and knowledge of the history of fashion that will be instrumental to write a wonderful new chapter in the adventure of the brand founded by Franco Moschino.”

And Appiolaza added: “I am ready to transport the Maison into a new chapter, with a theatrical touch, in the pure style of Moschino.”

The new creative chief certainly has a strong track record and has been tipped for bigger things for some time.

He’s worked with some of the biggest and best in modern fashion design. He was most recently RTW Design Director at Loewe — which is creatively helmed by Jonathan Anderson — and also worked at Chloé under both Phoebe Philo and Clare Waight Keller. And he spent another two years working with Marc Jacobs during his successful tenure at Louis Vuitton and four years at Miu Miu under Miuccia Prada.

Other key points in his career include time spent early on at Alexander McQueen and Miguel Adrover and a training at that hotbed of future creative directors London’s Central Saint Martins. He credited Phoebe Philo with kick-starting his career as she ivnited him to work at Chloé after seeing his graduation collection.

Fifty-one-year-old Appiolaza was born in Buenos Aires and his first exposure to fashion was via his grandmother who was a tailor. He moved to the UK, inspired by its music scene and is an enthusiastic collector of designer fashion, including vintage Moschino.

We’ll see the first results of his creativity during Fashion Week on 22 February in Milan, although it will likely take longer for his full creative imprint to be seen at Moschino.