Davide Renne, the newly appointed creative director of Moschino brand, has died, according to a press release posted Friday by the brand’s parent company Aeffe SpA.
In a brief statement, Aeffe said, “...with great sorrow, [Aeffe] announces the untimely passing of Davide Renne, Creative Director of the Moschino brand.”
On Instagram, the Moschino account posted a longer message from Massimo Ferretti, Aeffe’s chairman.
"There are no words to describe the pain we are experiencing at this dramatic time,” said Ferretti in the post. “Davide joined us only a few days ago, when a sudden illness took him from us too soon. We still can't believe what happened.”
Ferretti added that Renne had been working on “an ambitious project” and that the house was now “left with the responsibility of carrying on what his imagination and creativity had only envisioned.
Renne took over the position on Nov. 1 after being named to the post last month. He was appointed to replace former creative director Jeremy Scott, who exited the role in March. Renne was only the fourth creative director in the post since the brand was founded by Franco Moschino in 1983. Scott had taken over the position from Rossella Jardini, who herself inherited the role from founder Moschino following his death in 1994.
Friends of the designer expressed their grief through Instagram posts following Renne’s death.
“I met you in 1999 and it was love at first sight, you have been my brother my family my everything, ever since,” wrote Walter Chiapponi, Blumarine’s newly appointed creative director, from his personal Instagram account. “Davidó l will miss you every second ,I’m heartbroken , today is one of the hardest day of my life . Please respect my pain.”
Gucci’s former creative director Alessandro Michele, with whom Renne had worked closely during his time at the brand, wrote in an Instagram post that Renne was one of the most talented creative directors he’d ever known, and called him a sweet friend and inseparable brother.
Renne’s first collection for the Italian house was set to debut during the fall-winter 2024 shows at Milan Fashion Week in February 2024.
When his appointment was announced, Renne wrote in a statement saying he felt honored that Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of Aeffe, trusted him with the position.
“I am very conscious of the honor that Mr. Ferretti — a gentleman who has been almost fatherly in his ability to listen and establish a dialogue during our encounters — has bestowed upon me in taking charge of the House founded by one of fashion’s great minds,” said Renne.
No details of his death have been announced. On Saturday, Renne’s Instagram account posted information regarding his memorial service, which was held Sunday at the Casa Funeraria San Siro in Milan.
Aeffe did not mention Renne in its latest earnings report, released Friday.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comments posted after initial publication
