Burberry has named Ricccardo Tisci as its new chief creative officer ending months of speculation about who would take over from Christopher Bailey after he announced his intention to stand down last autumn.
Central Saint Martins-trained Tisci, who had been creative director at LVMH-owned Givenchy from 2005 to 2017, will take up the new position on 12 March and will be based at Burberry’s London HQ. The move marks a reunion for him and Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti who had been instrumental in bringing Tisci to Givenchy for what proved to be a highly successful tenure.
“I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry as Chief Creative Officer. 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 Gobbetti of the appointment.
Tisci said he was “honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry as its new Chief Creative Officer and reuniting with Marco Gobbetti. I have an enormous respect for Burberry’s British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand.”
Following Givenchy Gobbetti had gone on to head up Céline and, after his arrival at Burberry last year and the subsequent resignation of Bailey, it was widely believed that Gobbetti would bring Céline’s British creative director Phoebe Philo back to London to head up the creative function at Burberry. However when she did stand down from Céline at the start of the year – to be replaced by Hedi Slimane – she made it clear she had no immediate plans to join another fashion house.
Other names that had been linked to the role include former Louis Vuitton menswear artistic director Kim Jones, former Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz and Coach creative director Stuart Vevers, though Vevers had ruled himself out of the running earlier this year. Tisci was always a name in frame for Burberry but there had been some speculation that the Italian designer would be headed Versace to join his friend Donatella Versace, who had appeared in a Givenchy ad in 2015.
Bailey, who bowed out after 17 years at an emotional London Fashion Week show last month, is due to formally stand down from the Burberry board this month. He is due to complete a period of consultancy with the brand until the end of this year though whether that will go ahead with Tisci now in position is not yet clear.
Riccardo Tisci image: (c) Katerina Jebb 2018
