The Metzingen-based fashion group Hugo Boss AG announced fundamental changes in its creative team on Monday. Accordingly, Chief Brand Officer Ingo Wilts will leave the company “for personal reasons” with immediate effect. Wilts, who has been a member of the Group’s Executive Board since 2016, was “last responsible for the general creative direction of the collections and the fashion shows,” according to a statement. He also oversaw “Boss and Hugo’s visual realignment, which was completed in January.” Even after his resignation, Wilts “will be involved in the company’s collection-related projects until the end of December,” explained Hugo Boss.
Falcioni will be responsible for the overall creative management of the Boss and Hugo corporate brands
With Wilts’ departure, the group is restructuring its creative department: On March 1, Marco Falcioni will be promoted to the newly created post of Senior Vice President Creative Direction Hugo Boss. In the future, he will report directly to CEO Daniel Grieder and take over “overall management for the creative direction of the two brands in the group,” the company said. This is done “in close cooperation with the design managers of the respective brand lines”.
Falcioni has been with Hugo Boss since 2015. In recent months he has played an important role in the group’s creative reforms: “Most recently he was part of the Boss Menswear fashion show team, responsible for the creative implementation of collaborations such as Boss X Russell Athletic and was responsible for the introduction of the new brand identity jointly responsible,” the company said. Before moving to Metzingen, Falcioni worked for the Italian fashion label Diesel for ten years, including as Head Designer Diesel Male.
Andrea Cannelloni returns as a consultant
In the future, Falcioni will be supported by Andrea Cannelloni, who will return to Hugo Boss as Creative Advisor for a year from March 1st. “Until 2008, Cannelloni worked in various creative functions at the company for around ten years. During this time he was responsible for the development of Boss’s casualwear division and the launch of the Boss Orange brand – including women’s fashion – which he took to a new level together with Boss Green.
“I look forward to working with Marco Falcioni and Andrea Cannelloni, both of whom bring an excellent creative style and extensive experience in collection development,” said CEO Grieder, who has headed the group since last summer.
“We want to be a 24/7 lifestyle brand for men and women, appeal to younger target groups and turn them into real fans. I am therefore convinced that Marco Falcioni is exactly the right personality to further develop our collections for the future,” emphasized the CEO in a statement. He attested to the future creative director “an excellent feeling for trends”: Falcioni meets “the zeitgeist and the expectations of the new generations”. Advisor Cannelloni will “for his part make an important contribution to restoring our casual and athleisure business to full strength in the coming years,” says Grieder.