Versace - Alexander McQueen - Costume National Design & Creative Consultant Menswear / Womenswear / Accessories As a creative lead for luxury brands, my international portfolio spans two decades. Currently Senior Design Director at Versace, I've previously worked with Alexander McQueen and Costume National as well as Jay-Z, Rihanna & Bat for Lashes. I combine fashion design, art direction and brand identity with my sartorial background to achieve a 360° vision; working with multinationals such as Kering and Capri Holdings. Transforming iconic global fashion brands drives my passion to elevate and develop their aesthetic and identity. Using leadership and innovation, I convert a bold vision and disruptive ideas into dynamic brand signatures, resulting in outstanding commercial success and unique pop culture moments. Collaborators Stylists Jacob K, Allegra Versace, Panos Yiapanis, Kim Jones, Paul Mather, Jay Massacret, Michiko Koshino, Robbie Spencer, Nicolas Santos, Camilla Nickerson, Joe McKenna, Anastasia Barbieri and Jodie Barnes. Photographers Nan Goldin, David Sims, Wolfgang Tillmans, Olga Grebennikova, Timothy Schaumberg, Harley Weir, Salvatore Caputo, Karim Sadli and Steven Klein Clients / Commissions Jay-Z, Rihanna, will.i.am, Bat for Lashes, Patrick Wolf, Pet Shop Boys, The Weekend and Japanese noise band Bo Ningen
I was tasked by Donatella Versace to oversee the direction & strategic vision and reposition the brand for a new generation. Develop modern street couture collections across all product categories while remaining in line with the iconic Versace DNA. It has quickly become an important business driver and we work closely with production, merchandising & sales to ensure quality and continued revenue growth. The success of the business has encouraged CEO Jonathan Akeroyd for me to oversee additional exclusive Gianni Versace collaborations and projects.
I relished the challenge of building the design team, its organizational structure and establishing the targets & goals. Directing the design vision from ideation to execution, developing the brand from the ground up and leading through various rebranding. Working closely with both creative directors, Lee McQueen and Sarah Burton, I had their trust to conceptualise and develop the brand specific DNA. Really unique, yet unmistakably McQueen in its vocabulary.
Design and development of the collection with the in-house atelier, exclusive for the London flagship store. Design Manager of second line ‘Yen-London’ MRTW and WRTW range.
Freelance writer and stylist for various fashion and art magazines such as PENG! Magazine, Austria and THE END MAGAZINE, Italy
Directly reporting to Creative Director Ennio Capasa and developing the full womenswear runway collection as well as special projects. Head of Atelier - Design and development of made to measure red carpet gowns for Celebrity customers such as Nicole Kidman and Heidi Klum and development of special evening gowns
Assisting the Womenswear designer on the full development of the collection
Design of the full MRTW collection and directly reporting to Creative Director Ennio Capasa. Head of Atelier - Bespoke tailoring design and development for Celebrity customers such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Lenny Kravitz (Red carpet and tour wardrobe)