Berluti ends speculation by naming Haider Ackermann creative director
LVMH menswear brand’s choice of Belgian a surprise given he built his namesake label’s reputation on women’s fashion and waited a decade before launching his first collection for men
Earlier this year the world of menswear was shaken up when Italian tailoring brand Brioni appointed retail guru Justin O’Shea as its creative director. Now menswear house Berluti has confirmed Belgian designer Haider Ackermann will become its creative director, ending two months of speculation he would be appointed to the role.
Berluti started out as a luxury shoemaker in 1895 and was acquired by luxury conglomerate LVMH in 1993. In 2010, Antoine Arnault, son of owner Bernard Arnault, joined as CEO with a vision of transforming Berluti from a shoemaker into a luxury menswear brand along the lines of Tom Ford and Brioni.
Ackermann’s appointment came as a surprise to industry insiders because he is better known as a designer of women’s fashion. The emotionally charged collections he produced for his own-name label have garnered celebrity fans including actress Tilda Swinton.
The Colombian-born designer studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, and began working in Paris in 2003. He quickly became a favourite of fashion editors for his languid draped silhouettes and elegant yet edgy mix of sculpted leather jackets, trailing blouses and androgynous tailoring. A similar aesthetic punctuates his menswear, the first collection for which he presented in 2013.
Prior to Berluti’s announcement, Ackermann had been linked with vacancies at Dior, Lanvin, Maison Martin Margiela and Saint Laurent. In 2010 Karl Lagerfeld famously told Numero magazine that Ackermann would be his ideal successor at Chanel.
Ackermann will present his first collection for Berluti during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in January 2017. He will continue to design men’s and women’s collections under his namesake label.
Berluti has three stores in Hong Kong – in Prince’s Building, Central, and at Harbour City and Elements in Kowloon.
