MILAN — Designer Francesco Scognamiglio — known for his romantic concoctions worn by the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Rihanna, among others — has bought back his namesake brand and is plotting a relaunch.
The Neapolitan designer has acquired the Francesco Scognamiglio and Maison Francesco Scognamiglio brands from Y Capital Management, the investment fund that fully bought the brands in 2021 after having acquired a 30 percent stake in 2015. The 2021 transaction resulted from different business visions between the designer and the investor.
“I’ve really wanted to take back what was essentially mine… These [four] years have been a battle to buy back my creative freedom and voice,” Scognamiglio said in an interview.
Since the 2021 sale to Y Capital Management, the Francesco Scognamiglio brand and the haute couture counterpart Maison Francesco Scognamiglio have been frozen.
“I’ve been working for a few months now on restyling the brands from an art direction standpoint to open a new window on the history of these brands started in 1998,” Scognamiglio said.
Scognamiglio made his runway debut in 2000 at Alta Roma, in the Italian capital, during couture week and after that experience regularly showed during Milan Fashion Week. In 2016, the designer introduced the Maison Francesco Scognamiglio couture line in Paris.
The first collection under his full ownership — a 15-item couture lineup — is to be unveiled at the end of June in Naples, just ahead of Paris Couture Week.
The designer, who is turning 50 this year, is planning a birthday bash-cum-brand event titled “The Renaissance” in his hometown, inside the Palazzo Reale, or Royal Palace, a stately palazzo built between the 17th and the mid-19th centuries.
“This is meant to be a couture collection for private clients and celebrities and mark the celebration of craftsmanship and true luxury, which are the only attributes ensuring success to any independent fashion brand,” Scognamiglio said.
The event is bound to attract jet-setters, models and celebrities who have supported the designer and his brands over the years, in addition to Scognamiglio’s friends. The designer — who declined to provide names at this stage — reinstated the emotional link between the city and his creative vision.
Francesco Scognamiglio couture, spring 2020
Courtesy Photo
“It’s also a way to give my contribution and showcase the beauty and unicity of my wonderful city, which has been a source of inspiration throughout my career,” Scognamiglio, a native of Pompeii, the archeological site just outside Naples, said.
In addition to preparing June’s couture display, Scognamiglio is busy fine-tuning a strategy for a ready-to-wear relaunch, although plans are still in the works.
“I’d like to restart ready-to-wear under a different lens, as an ideal, small and fine-tuned wardrobe to sell directly to boutiques, without wasting resources on too many [stock keeping units] that are meaningless, especially at a time of overproduction and product massification,” Scognamiglio explained. “Only quality can make a difference nowadays,” he said.
A lover of interior design, Scognamiglio also said he plans to train his creativity on decor, designing a hospitality space in Naples or Capri.
