Marni’s New Creative Vision: Meryll Rogge Appointed Following Francesco Risso’s Departure

Marni finds a replacement for Francesco Risso. The Italian brand owned by OTB Group has announced the appointment of Belgian designer Meryll Rogge as the new creative director of the house, thus closing a ten-year period led by Risso.

The signing of Rogge is a further step in the internal renewal of Marni that began with the appointment of Stefano Rosso as CEO in 2024, replacing Barbara Calò. The new creative lands at a key moment for the brand, which seeks to consolidate its growth after the departure of its creative director last June and in a context of repositioning within the Only The Brave group.

Trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Rogge began her career in New York in the design team of U.S. luxury brand Marc Jacobs, where she worked for nearly seven years. She later returned to Belgium to join Dries Van Noten as head of women’s design, where she also conceptualized the beauty line until her departure in 2025.

In parallel, in 2020 she launched her eponymous label, which in a short time has earned her industry recognition. Just one year later, she was named Emerging Talent of the Year at the Belgian Fashion Awards and, in 2024, became the first woman to receive the Designer of the Year award. Earlier this year, Rogge was honored with the Grand Prix at the Andam Awards in Paris.

Meryll Rogge has developed her career in firms such as Dries Van Noten and Marc Jacobs

OTB, the group to which Marni belongs, has highlighted the designer’s contemporary and transversal vision as fundamental to her appointment. “We were impressed by the sensitivity with which she reinterprets Marni’s DNA under a contemporary look,“ said Renzo Rosso, president of the group, through a statement. “Her vision encompasses all dimensions of the brand, from accessories to interior design and special projects,“ he added.

For his part, Stefano Rosso, CEO of Marni, has stressed that it is “an inspiring woman and an exceptional creative talent”, whose experience will be “key in building the future of the brand”. Rogge herself, for her part, has celebrated her joining a house she has admired “for a long time for its independent spirit”, recognizing that “taking on a role defined by such visionary creative directors is both inspiring and overwhelming”.

Rogge’ s arrival comes just a month after the departure of Francesco Risso, who had led Marni’s creative direction since 2015. During his decade at the helm, Risso drove the expansion of men’s collections and signed artistic collaborations and cultural projects that marked a period of creative renewal for the Italian brand.

The change also comes at a delicate time for the OTB group , which in the last fiscal year (closed December 2024) reduced its turnover by 5% to €1.7 billion. Gross operating profit (ebitda) also fell by 20% to €275.8 million.

In parallel, the company has accelerated its internationalization strategy, with a focus on Latin America, where it has created a regional subsidiary to centralize the operations of its brands: Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander and MM6.