Casablanca appoints Frederick Lukoff as chief executive. In his new role, Lukoff will work alongside Casablanca designer and founder Charaf Tajer.
The appointment follows a significant long-term investment the brand received from a group of strategic advisors, Casablanca said on Monday. It is not known who the investors are.
The brand’s priorities are now the opening of a first flagship store in Paris, the expansion of the product lines, the expansion of digitization and the supply chain. These steps are intended to help further fuel the growth of the brand.
Lukoff is no stranger to the fashion industry. The Chief Executive-designate has held the same role at luxury fashion brand Stella McCartney for more than a decade and has held various leadership roles at brands such as Courrèges, Paco Rabanne and Lanvin.
“I am very honored that not only myself but also my team have the opportunity to work with someone who has such great knowledge of this industry,” said Tajer. “Frederick worked with legends I’ve always looked up to, namely André Courrèges and Alber Elbaz.”
Most recently, however, Lukoff did not work in the luxury segment, but for the Dutch fashion retailer Scotch & Soda. In September 2019, he left Stella McCartney and the native Dutchman took over the management of the brand, succeeding CEO Dirk-Jan Stoppelenburg.
In March, the Amsterdam-based clothing brand filed for bankruptcy for its Dutch business. The brand was saved by two separate takeovers, one by the US company Bluestar Alliance and the other by the Belgian distribution group Groep Alain Broekaert (GAB).