EXCLUSIVE: MISSONI PARTS WAYS WITH CREATIVE DIRECTOR FILIPPO GRAZIOLI

Published October 3, 2024 By Luisa Zargani

The brand has already chosen a successor.

MILAN — In another designer shakeup, Filippo Grazioli is exiting Missoni, WWD has learned.

In an exclusive interview, Livio Proli, chief executive officer of the Italian brand, confirmed the “amicable and consensual parting at the end of Filippo’s mandate.” Grazioli joined Missoni in 2022 and his last show was held for spring 2025 on Sept. 20 in Milan.

Proli said the designer will be succeeded by Alberto Caliri. His first collection will bow for pre-fall.

Caliri is no stranger to the brand and Proli is banking precisely on his experience. He first joined Missoni in 1998 and succeeded Angela Missoni as creative director ad interim in May 2021. His first collections in that role for spring and fall 2022 received positive reviews. A year later, he crossed over to the brand’s home collection and led a new phase for the division, which has been supervised by cofounder Rosita Missoni.

Proli praised Grazioli’s contribution to the growth of Missoni, but said he felt Caliri’s experience with knitwear and textiles would be key for this latest phase of the brand. “We are thinking of one lifestyle collection that covers menswear, womenswear and home, and not three single lines. Alberto will be able to bring cohesion, harmony and consistency across the board,” Proli said.

For this reason, he underscored that the decision to promote Caliri was a strategic one aligned with the lifestyle, luxury positioning of the brand, following the closure of M Missoni, bringing the signature line’s online platform in-house and investing in internal production. For example, in March, Missoni took over Tricotex Srl, a leading manufacturer of high-end textiles. Based in Gallarate, on the outskirts of Milan and near Missoni‘s headquarters, the company specializes in Raschel knit fabrics — a Missoni signature — made with special Caperdoni looms rather than industrial knitting machines and defined by a textured, coarse appearance. Also, in 2020, Missoni bought out T&J Vestor, its licensee for the Missoni Home collections, building on a partnership kicked off in 1983.

“Alberto has the ability to envision a garment by just looking at a yarn and this is because of his ‘mestiere,’ or craft and expertise. Anyone can approach fashion, but excellence requires ‘mestiere‘ and Alberto will allow us to make that leap.”

He added that Caliri is not only talented but also “a true artist, he paints, studies design, is curious and has remained humble.”

Grazioli joined Missoni in 2022 and he has since paid tribute to founders Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, revisiting the house’s zigzag and flame patterns, adding transparencies, working with knotted and draped fabrics and sexy fringed skirts.

As reported, rumors about a potential exit of Grazioli had been circulating for some time. Speculation was perhaps fueled by Proli’s decision to invest in the brand’s menswear collection, which was presented in June at Pitti Uomo, designed by an in-house team, while Grazioli was to continue to design Missoni’s womenswear. Potentially signaling a change, backstage at his spring show, Grazioli was especially emotional, hugging his design team and dabbing tears with a tissue.

A graduate of Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design, Grazioli developed his career in Paris. During an internship at Staff International, he met Martin Margiela and went on to work with the designer on the women’s collections until 2013.

In 2015, after a stint as senior women’s designer at Hermès, he made another important personal encounter, meeting Riccardo Tisci and becoming director of the collections at Givenchy. Grazioli then followed Tisci to become director of the runway collection at Burberry.

The executive acknowledged the challenges in the economy, but touted Missoni’s potential given its still comparatively small size. In the first half of the year, sales rose 2 percent to 64.2 million euros, but he underscored that the company turned to profit last year and margins are growing. The home collection accounts for around 22 percent of total sales.

The company has been investing in retail and this year opened stores in Puerto Banús, Spain; Dubai; Mykonos and Salonicco, Greece; Santorini, and Kuwait. Stores will open in Sindalah, Saudi Arabia, and Sydney by the end of the year. “Thanks to our partnership with Al Tayer, Missoni is flying in the Middle East,” Proli said. The company is also eyeing a store in Paris.

“We will return to invest in Europe and our next focus is the U.S.,” he offered. While he holds the role of president and CEO of the American branch, he has named Stephanie Smart, who hails from Versace and Bottega Veneta, commercial director for the region.

Next year, units will open in Palm Beach, Fla., and Honolulu, Hawaii. “Our beachwear line is performing very well,” Proli said.

Proli said Caliri helped sales of the home collection climb 50 percent in four years, also thanks to the numerous luxury interior design projects. Earlier this week, Missoni revealed it was debuting in Toronto with Missoni Sky, a luxurious residential tower being developed with Amexon Development Corp. The tower will showcase Missoni’s signature geometric style, integrating the brand’s iconic zigzag patterns and colors into spaces ranging from the expansive lobbies and rooftop terraces to the amenities and interiors of the residences.

A rendering of Missoni Sky.

Last year, Missoni partnered with luxury real estate developer Dar Global, creating interiors for the luxury Marea residential project in the south of Spain, near Marbella, the marinas of Puerto Banús and Sotogrande, the Santa María and Los Pinos Polo Clubs, the Finca Cortesin hotel and 18-hole golf course and Real Club Valderrama. Together with Dar Global, Missoni has also developed the tower of Dubai Urban Oasis, and the interiors by Missoni of the Miami Bay Handover tower were completed last year.

The Italian fund FSI took a 41.2 percent stake in the family-owned company in 2018.