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Ferrari puts fashion designer Rocco Iannone in charge of its apparel lines
Rocco Iannone has moved from Pal Zileri to Ferrari. The Italian designer, who since July 2017 had been in charge of style at luxury Italian menswear label Pal Zileri, has been hired by Ferrari as the creative director of the supercar manufacturer’s Brand Diversification division, which looks after Ferrari's licensing and brand extension business.
Iannone, 25, recently took up his new role, and reports to Nicola Boari, who was appointed chief brand diversification officer last year. He will have the “responsibility for developing the creative content, design and image of all of Ferrari’s own and licensed apparel and accessories collections for men and women,” stated Ferrari in a press release.
Iannone was born in Catanzaro, Italy, and graduated from the Istituto Marangoni in 2006. After a stint at Dolce & Gabbana, he joined Giorgio Armani, working as designer for the menswear line and then as head of the Emporio Armani Red line, before leaving the Italian luxury label to become creative director of Pal Zileri.
His appointment follows Ferrari’s November 4 announcement that it has signed a contract with the Giorgio Armani group, and that by the end of 2020 it intends to open a restaurant with Michelin-starred Italian chef Massimo Bottura. Also on the cards, the building of theme parks, as Ferrari confirmed its plans to diversify the business, while also planning to cut the number of product licenses by about 50%. The automobile manufacturer’s goal is to position its brand extensions more upmarket, featuring more exclusive, made-in-Italy products.
With Giorgio Armani, Ferrari didn’t sign a co-branding agreement, but a production one. The luxury label will produce a selection of clothes and accessories for Ferrari, designed by the latter’s creative studio led by Iannone, operating from new, Milan-based offices.
As Ferrari’s CEO Louis Camilleri said at the presentation of the latest quarterly results, “the deal with Armani is a long-term one, and through it we want to raise the quality of our entire range and focus on made-in-Italy products.” He added that “the market value of Ferrari-branded products is currently in the region of €800 million.” Ferrari expects to generate “10% of total profits within the next 7 to 10 years from brand extensions.”
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