MILAN - In a move that blurs the lines between music, performance, and fashion, Dondup has named Italian pop sensation Achille Lauro as its new creative director. The appointment, effective immediately, marks a strategic pivot for the denim-centric label, which has navigated the shifting tides of Italian ready-to-wear since its founding in 1999. Lauro, born Lauro De Marinis in Verona, rose from Rome's underground rap scene to become a cultural provocateur, most famously subverting gender norms at the 2020 Sanremo Music Festival in Alessandro Michele-era Gucci. His theatrical stage presence - think corseted silhouettes and reimagined sacred iconography - echoes lingerie's own history of challenging propriety, from the corset's liberation in the 1920s to the modern push for gender-fluid undergarments.
CEO Mauro Grange, who took the helm last December, sees Lauro as the catalyst for Dondup's next evolution. "He didn't want to be just the face of the brand," Grange noted, "but to help forge this next phase." Lauro will lead design teams across womenswear, menswear, and accessories, presenting his debut capsule - focused solely on women's looks - on June 15 at his San Siro concert. The collection promises "high-octane sensuality with a mannish edge," a duality that recalls the androgynous appeal of early 20th-century lingerie, when silk camisoles and tap pants borrowed from masculine tailoring.
Dondup, entirely made in Italy and rooted in the Marche region, has been without a creative director since co-founder Manuela Mariotti departed in 2017. Lauro's appointment signals a return to bold identity, one that intertwines music, performance, and the intimate art of dressing. As he put it, "Fashion is the world you create around clothing, which enhances people's innate elegance and style." For a label built on denim - a fabric that, like lingerie, straddles structure and sensuality - Lauro's vision may well rewrite the rules of modern luxury.
Originally reported by WWD