Moschino names Sunnei founders as creative directors for Milan reset

Moschino just made its loudest move in years: Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo are in as creative directors effective immediately, and their first collection will hit Milan Fashion Week in September. After years of Moschino as the house of irony, the real question now is whether the label can translate that wit into something richer, cleaner and durable enough for old-money taste.

The timing is brutal and revealing. Messina and Rizzo replace Adrian Appiolaza, who had been in the job for about two and a half years after taking over in January 2024 and showing his first Moschino collection in February 2024. Moschino confirmed his exit just days before naming the Sunnei founders, which makes this feel less like a graceful handoff than a hard pivot.

That pivot matters because Moschino is not just changing a designer. It is testing its identity. The house built its name on Franco Moschino’s bite, then spent decades playing with fashion as a joke that could still sell luxury. Massimo Ferretti, Aeffe’s executive chairman, is now asking for a different balance, one where identity and innovation have to coexist. That is exactly the tightrope Messina and Rizzo have been asked to walk.

Their Sunnei background is the clue. They founded the Milan label in 2014 and helped turn it into one of the city’s more contemporary, idea-driven names before leaving in September 2025. Their work has always carried a certain studied cool, the kind of fashion that looks less interested in costume and more interested in shape, attitude and the subtle twist. For Moschino, that could mean a sharper silhouette, less cartoonish signaling, more disciplined tailoring and a more expensive-looking hand. It could also mean the danger of softening Moschino until the house loses its snap.

The business backdrop is not exactly forgiving. Aeffe reported consolidated revenues of €271.98 million for 2024, down 17.42% from the year before, and said in its annual report that weaker consumption and difficult conditions in key markets were weighing on luxury. The appointment also lands as Sunnei itself was placed into judicial liquidation by the Milan court in June 2026, with reported supplier debts of about €1.3 million. In other words, this is not just a creative hire. It is a pressure move.

If Messina and Rizzo can bring Moschino closer to polished, collectible luxury without sanding off the house’s nerve, they will have pulled off something rare in Milan. If not, Moschino stays exactly what it has been for too long: clever, recognizable and a little too playful for the people it now needs to win.