LONDON — Vanguards, the Hungarian parent company of fashion labels Nanushka, Sunnei and Aeron, has tapped luxury consultant and former editorial director of Highsnobiety Christopher Morency as its chief brand officer.
In his new role, based between London and Budapest, Morency will be responsible for leading the global brand strategy in the group, as well as identifying new investment opportunities.
“Together with the great team at Vanguards, I set out to challenge that notion and support founders in overcoming these growing pains and with them carefully expanding their brand universes beyond clothes alone,” Morency said in a statement sent to WWD.
Morency holds a bachelor’s degree in International Media from Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Prior to working his way up at the street culture site Highsnobiety, Morency held positions at Vice Media and Fantastic Men.
Founded in 2020 by Peter Baldaszti, chief executive office and co-owner of Nanushka, Vanguards took a majority stake in the Budapest-based womenswear label Aeron and Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo’s Milanese brand Sunnei the same year, as it aspires to become a new player in the competitive designer fashion sector.
Baldaszti believes that Morency “is the next in line to bring a unique skill set to our group.”
“He has a thorough understanding of how customers become a community and how cultural capital is the next scarce resource. I believe he will enable our brands to think and act like media brands,” he added.
Last year, the company bulked up its leadership team by hiring fashion director and brand consultant Candice Fragis as group fashion strategist, and appointing Sarah Scalisi-Walsh to lead global wholesale.