Adrian Appiolaza Exits Moschino

MILAN — Adrian Appiolaza has exited Moschino after more than two years as creative director, while the brand’s owner Aeffe seeks a buyer amid mounting financial troubles.

The designer‘s exit was a mutual decision, Aeffe said on Friday without providing further details. A new creative configuration is set to be announced “in due course.”

Recruited by the brand in 2024, Appiolaza succeeded Davide Renne who died from a sudden illness days after filling the role that had been held by Jeremy Scott for more than a decade.

Appiolaza brought a more fashion-forward approach to the Italian label, drawing mixed reviews from fashion insiders. He dialled down the theatrics that had characterised Scott’s tenure while maintaining its playful irreverence.

Executives had hoped they could build momentum around Appiolaza’s new styles, including accessories like his top handled “Tie Me” bag, wrapped in a leather strip.

But the financial struggles at Moschino and its parent company have only deepened. Aeffe, which also owns Alberta Ferretti and Pollini, and relies on Moschino for the bulk of its sales, is undergoing a court-supervised restructuring process.

Last month, Aeffe said Oxy Capital, which specialises in corporate turnarounds, together with a consortium of industrial and financial partners had made a non-binding offer to buy the company. The aim is to get court approval by October and have the deal close by the end of the year, Aeffe said.

Aeffe shares have lost three-fourths of their value over the past year, lowering its market capitalisation to €13.2 million ($15.2 million) as the company has sought investors to help steady its finances. In the first half of 2025, the last financial statement available on Aeffe’s website, the company posted a net loss of €28.5 million on revenue of €103 million, 27 percent less than the previous year.

As a slump in luxury fashion stretches into its third year, smaller brands like Moschino, which count on wholesale channels for a large proportion of sales, have suffered the most.

Already struggling in 2024, the brand sold its rights to cosmetics and fragrances to longtime licensee Euroitalia in a bid to reduce debt.

Before joining Moschino, Appiolaza had spent a decade at Loewe working under Jonathan Anderson as women’s ready-to-wear design director. He also held the same role at Chloé under Clare Waight Keller, and worked at Louis Vuitton during the Marc Jacobs era.