Riccardo Tisci is new Burberry creative chief, shares rise

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 1, 2018

We’d been expecting a long wait to hear about Burberry’s new creative supremo but the company took the industry by surprise Thursday morning and named Riccardo Tisci as Chief Creative Officer, replacing the outgoing Christopher Bailey as of March 12. And the market liked what it heard with the shares up nearly 4% mid-morning.

Tisci, who is a graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, will direct all Burberry collections and will present his first looks for the brand in September. He will be based at Burberry's HQ in London.

If the appointment helps to boost sales, it looks like Tisci could be in it for the long-term. The ex-Givenchy designer stayed at the LVMH-owned label for 12 years and while that doesn’t rival Bailey’s 17 years at Burberry, it does suggest that the post won’t become vacant again for some time.

Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti said: "Riccardo is one of the most talented designers of our time. His designs have an elegance that is contemporary and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today's luxury consumer. [His] creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury."

Tisci himself added: "I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry as its new Chief Creative Officer and reuniting with Marco Gobbetti. I have an enormous respect for Burberry's British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand.”

Tisci and Gobbetti worked together when the latter was President and CEO of Givenchy from 2004-08.
The designer had earlier been rumoured to be joining Versace but nothing came of that. 

What will he do at Burberry? We don’t know yet. But we can maybe expect a touch of theatre. The company, in announcing his appointment, stressed how he is well known “for surrounding himself with a diverse group of collaborators, from creating costumes for work by performance artist Marina Abramovic through to directing the artwork for the multi-award winning 'Watch the Throne' album by Jay Z and Kanye West.”

He has also designed the stage outfits for world tours of Madonna, Beyoncé and Rihanna, “introducing his aesthetic to an ever-widening audience.” And that wide audience has also been treated to the Tisci taste via his collaboration with Nike and his earlier role at Puma.