MILAN — Building a bridge between British sartorial tradition and Italian nonchalance was the main goal Massimiliano Giornetti had for his first official presentation as the creative director of Drumohr.
As reported, the designer, who in the past most notably served as creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo, was named to the role earlier this month, becoming the first to helm the creative direction of the knitwear specialist since it was established in Scotland in 1770.
On Wednesday, Giornetti welcomed journalists to a suite at the Rocco Forte House Milan hotel here to discuss the appointment and unveil his inaugural effort for the brand, a focused spring 2026 collection that he defined as a pilot project ahead of the fall one.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
Giornetti revealed his ties with the brand trace back to when he was 7 and he eyed a navy cashmere knit in a store in Tuscany’s resort destination Forte dei Marmi, which was eventually gifted to him. “It was my first luxury item,” he recalled. “And it was passed down to my older niece and now to my youngest. This made me think of those pieces that stay in your wardrobe and are with you through all your life and a sense of slowness.
“I’m a fast guy but today fashion is too fast. I like the idea of people rediscovering a passion for what they wear, not a frenzy toward it,” continued Giornetti. “For me, certain brands have to follow their own pace, which is not timed to an acceleration but a natural slowness.”
The designer is aiming to imbue this spirit into his collections, pouring innovative tweaks into timeless pieces.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
He started by reinterpreting wardrobe archetypes and staples of the brand. Established in Drumfries, Scotland, Drumohr is known for its high-end knitwear collections that over time have attracted an elite clientele, ranging from the British royal family to the King of Norway, in addition to celebrities spanning from Audrey Hepburn to James Stewart.
It was thanks to the late Italian entrepreneur and fashion icon Gianni Agnelli that the brand’s original “razor blade” pattern became a Drumohr trope. Also known as “biscottino,” or “little biscuit” in English, due to its shape, he reprised the motif in crewneck knits and cardigans cut in loose and oversize proportions, which Giornetti favored throughout the whole range.
In addition to mentioning his long-lasting passion and expertise in knitwear — which he sees as one of his strengths since his beginnings in the men’s knitwear department at Ferragamo — Giornetti said that a picture of Gregory Peck wearing a Drumohr cardigan in the Hamptons inspired the relaxed feel he wants to imprint on the brand. “I want to bring an Italian lightness into a British composure,” he said.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
The photograph hangs in the office of Michele and Filippo Ciocca, who run Drumohr’s parent company. As reported, in 2006, the brand was acquired by the Gruppo Ciocca holding company, which operates sock businesses Ciocca and Sozzi, as well as knitwear brands Rossopuro and Heritage. The new owner transferred production from Scotland to Italy.
“Everything is made in Italy but preserving British elements, like the use of Scottish cashmere. For me respecting the tradition is essential,” Giornetti said. Yet he worked on deconstructing tailoring and teased his overarching goal of delivering “a knit that looks like a jacket and a jacket that feels like a knit.”
“In a moment where the traditional formalwear is not that appealing, a cozy wearability will be the fil rouge of the collections going forward,” he said.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
He offered a taste of the approach in the spring 2026 range via burgundy linen suits and striped alternatives with pants featuring an elastic band for a more casual mood, which added to designs including laid-back linen bowling shirts and shorts.
Although Giornetti’s aim is to offer a shared wardrobe between men and women, he included more feminine touches via floral prints blooming on silk pajama sets — whose delicacy was balanced off by lightweight working jackets — crochet dresses and airy cotton long frocks, all respecting the natural shades of the collection.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
Such pieces signaled the stronger push on womenswear that the company sees as central to its growth strategy. In addition to further expansion into hospitality and home decor, the opening of stores in key locations such as Milan, Turin, Rome and Forte dei Marmi, also has pointed in that direction. The brand also has corners at Rinascente outposts in Milan, Rome and Florence and it is distributed in about 500 multibrand doors globally, including 240 in Italy.
“[Giornetti’s] experience and the professionalism demonstrated in years of success, even in product categories still unexplored for us, will be a strategic lever for the evolution of the Drumohr lifestyle,” said the company about its ambitions at the time of the designer’s appointment.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
After starting his career in womenswear with the Rome-based haute couture designer Anton Giulio Grande, Giornetti first joined the Salvatore Ferragamo company in 2000, to head up the design and development of its menswear. In 2009, his tasks expanded to include the design of the women’s collections and the following year he was promoted to oversee the creative development of all categories of the Florence-based luxury house, which he eventually exited in 2016.
After a one-year stint at premium Chinese brand Shanghai Tang, he was tapped as the first head of fashion design of Florentine fashion school Polimoda in 2019. A Polimoda alumnus himself, he was promoted to director of the school in 2021, succeeding Danilo Venturi in the role.
A look from the Drumohr spring 2026 collection.
Courtesy of Drumohr
Giornetti is fully committed to retaining the post while working for Drumohr, defining it “pure oxygen for me today.”
“In this crisis of values that hit the industry, to have this uncontaminated oasis where success is not measured by sales numbers, but by the ability to carry on a project not influenced by market trends, is a real privilege,” he said. “I like to put my know-how at the disposal of students but in truth I feel that I’m the one learning much more from them rather than the opposite.…My generation was very individualist, while the younger ones are all about sharing. I could never give up this kind of collaboration.”
