MILAN — Sergio Rossi has named an artistic director recruited from the digital creative realm.
Evangelie Smyrniotaki, best known online as Style Heroine, is to join the footwear specialist this month overseeing the brand image and identity. She will report to Sergio Rossi chief executive officer Riccardo Sciutto.
In her role, the Athens-based Smyrniotaki will oversee ad campaigns, content creation, styling and creativity, but won’t be directly involved with footwear design on a daily basis, although the company said a special capsule collection labeled Evangelie Smyrniotaki x Sergio Rossi will bow at the February edition of Milan Fashion Week. Seasonal collections are designed by the in-house team.
“It is a privilege to join Sergio Rossi at this exciting time and I look forward to shaping a new chapter with the brand. I have long been an admirer and I firmly believe that the brand, backed today by Lanvin Group, has only begun to express its potential,” Smyrniotaki said.
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The appointment comes at a time of transformation for the luxury shoe brand, known for its feminine and decorative designs, after Fosun Group took control of the company last June. Fosun Group was renamed Lanvin Group last October and also comprises the Lanvin, Wolford, St. John and Caruso brands.
“I’m glad for the arrival of Evangelie and I strongly believe that her knowledge of luxury shoes’ aesthetic and new media will bring great value to the brand,” Sciutto said.
“Communication has changed a lot in these years and Evangelie sums up the new figures that the industry needs; today, brands have to resonate with clients and on new communication tools — and I believe in a creative management, which is able to be consistent with communities’ needs,” the brand’s CEO added.
To be sure, on Instagram alone the Greek digital content creator counts more than 400,000 followers who are drawn to her polished images and New Gen “It” girl storytelling. She has partnered with brands and retailers including Chanel, Prada, Versace and Mytheresa, among others. She ventured into the digital realm by launching the Style Heroine blog in 2011 at the onset of the influencers’ scene.
In recent years, Sergio Rossi’s CEO has succeeded in reorganizing the company, modernizing its manufacturing plant in Italy’s San Mauro Pascoli, a key footwear district, and giving a precise identity to the product in sync with that of the brand’s late founder.
Last month, the footwear brand was unveiled as among the tenants of Milan’s Spiga 26 real estate project, a move in sync with the new owner’s commitment to invest in store openings. Sergio Rossi is moving out of its current Via Montenapoleone space to join the new retail complex, which is expected to bow in spring 2022.