Ermenegildo Zegna appoints Alessandro Sartori to new role of Artistic Director

Following on from this week's round of designer musical chairs, comes the confirmation that former artistic director for Italian footwear label Berluti, Alessandro Sartori, has been appointed to the newly created role of artistic director at Ermenegildo Zegna.

In his new role at Ermenegildo Zegna, Sartori will be responsible for the creative direction of all of Zegna brands. The announcement confirms recent speculation regarding Sartori's return to the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, as he previously spent eight years at the creative head of Ermenegildo Zegna younger sister label, Z Zegna, prior to joining the team at Berluti. Sartori, who is set to report directly to the group's chief executive officer, Gildo Zegna, has been credited for founding and building up Berluti's ready-to-wear business, boosting the LVMH-owned company's revenue from 30 million euros in 2011 to over 100 million euros in 2015.

"I've known Alessandro and his style for many years and I am extremely excited to welcome him back to our Group," said Gildo Zegna on the appointment. "His talent, creativity, passion and modernity make him the perfect fit to help us take Zegna to the next phase of its development." Sartori, who will take on his new role from June, 2016 onwards, is set to present his first full season collection for the fashion house for FW 2017 in Milan, January 2017.

News of the appointment comes one day after the Italian fashion house confirmed the departure of its former creative director, Stefano Pilati, who left the position after three years to pursue other projects. "As we move on to write new chapters in Zegna’s development, I wish Stefano well for his future endeavours," said Zegna on his exit.

"I want to thank Gildo and the whole Zegna family for this fantastic opportunity," said Sartori. "I grew up watching and admiring their creations and their authentic and deep values and I am extremely excited to write with the whole Zegna team the next chapter. I cannot wait to enter in their fabulous archives and to meet their artisans to start working on the new collections."