“The idea of doing a standard fashion show never appealed to me,” mused designer Giuseppe di Morabito last week, in anticipation of his runway debut on Friday afternoon. “I don’t want to do a classic show. I want to do something different from what’s already in Milan.” When humanoid robot Ameca stepped out on the catwalk and read a text inspired by Sartor Resartus, a book written in the 1830s by Thomas Carlyle about the philosophy behind clothes and fashion, I knew what he meant.
Di Morabito might be new to the runway, but his contemporary eveningwear business is far from fledgling. He’s dressed megastars like Lady Gaga, Cher, Rihanna, Zendaya, Dua Lipa and Kylie Jenner; the brand has 200 global stockists, including Harvey Nichols (London), Joyce (Hong Kong), Printemps (Paris), Ounass (Dubai) and La Rinascente (Milan). The business is seeing double-digit year-on-year growth, reaching almost €10 million in revenues in 2024, despite the challenging market environment being seen industry-wide.
All this before a single fashion week activation? It’s an unusual playbook for a young designer, as most young names in the industry aim to make a name for themselves in order to secure stockists. But with an impressive celebrity client roster, accessible brand positioning and savvy fundraising, di Morabito has managed to build a robust business in the shadows before stepping into the spotlight to spread the word. Two years ago, the brand secured investment from Style Capital, an Italian private equity firm which also invests in MSGM, jewellery brand Damiani and retailer Luisaviaroma, to enter its next phase of growth.
“Before exposing the brand, I wanted to be really sure that it was the right moment,” di Morabito says. “I wanted to start by focusing on the product. Today, there are a lot of brands that start the opposite way, they have the press and the attention but don’t have an internal structure. My first investor always told me, ‘If you don’t have the structure and you do the press, you will fail; we see a lot of examples like that.’”
The golden age of celebrity dressing
Di Morabito grew up in the Calabria region in Southern Italy, in a small village dominated by embroiderers and tailors, where he became fascinated with cutting, sewing and garment construction at a young age. After moving to Milan in 2013 to study fashion at Istituto Marangoni, he started experimenting with prints inspired by Baroque frescoes on unisex bomber jackets, which quickly caught the attention of young creatives in Milan.
After a couple of years creating the bomber jackets, in 2016, di Morabito pivoted from unisex streetwear to womenswear and secured investment from private investors, the Presezzi family, to help him kickstart his eponymous brand. “It was strategic. Yes, I’m a designer; I’m creative. But I am also a businessman,” di Morabito says. “I saw that menswear was difficult at that time. And I saw there was [white] space for women’s clothes with the right price, the right positioning and the right design language.” Giuseppe di Morabito pieces, which skew towards eveningwear, with plenty of corsetry, bustiers, lace and latex, alongside sharp tailoring, are all made in Italy and typically range from €600-€1,000.
Di Morabito’s first collection in 2016 was worn by Lady Gaga and Zendaya, which helped him secure stockists from the off. Buyers pay a lot of attention to celebrity dressing, he says, and sometimes it would result in press mentions even though he had no PR. “Eleven years ago, when I started, it was a lot easier to dress celebrities. Instagram was newer [and less saturated], so I could directly contact the stylist to suggest pieces. No one was doing that back then.”
Di Morabito’s clothes are relatively maximalist, with a focus on femininity and heavy constructions, which has also helped him set his label apart from many contemporary players. “I think many young brands strive to be modern at all costs, creating garments that are difficult to wear or too minimalist,” he says.
After securing investment from Style Capital, his second round after the unnamed investor in 2016, di Morabito finally felt ready to stage a runway show. The collection, entitled ‘Alone with the Stars’, is inspired by an accident the designer had in Namibia last year, causing “a moment of solitude that brought out suppressed emotions, transforming them into creativity,” he says. The collection featured transparent draped garments expressing vulnerability, and armour-like metallic corsets and masculine jackets representing resistance and authority. Accessories, including jewellery made from metal flowers, underline the idea. “And the humanoid robot, Ameca, represents the contrast and the speed with which society is rushing toward the future, often without pausing to reflect on itself,” di Morabito adds.
Navigating tough times and scaling operations
With this collection and a 240-piece pre-fall collection designed for stores, di Morabito is hoping to continue bucking the luxury slowdown. “Yes, the industry is facing difficulties, and many retailers have become more cautious with their purchases. However, strong design and customer demand have kept interest in the brand alive,” the designer says.” Of course, some stores have reduced orders, but others have increased their buy, so brand growth has remained stable.”
The brand has long collaborated with the prominent Riccardo Grassi showroom — which also sells brands like Farm Rio and Erdem — to help secure distribution. Until recently, the brand operated with a tiny team of two, packing all the orders with 12,000 dresses to ship from a small warehouse space. “We used to take the car and go to all the factories to check thousands and thousands of units,” he says. “We managed all the production with files, and we didn t really have a system — it was crazy!” Sometimes, stores would call because of missing boxes, and di Morabito recalls pretending to be different people to make it seem like he had a bigger team.
With investment, di Morabito has been able to expand his team to 30 people and re-focus his energy. Now, the brand has a six-strong customer service team, a logistics department, and a much bigger warehouse. “It’s changed a lot,” he smiles. “I wouldn’t have been able to have this call with Vogue Business; I wouldn t have had time.”
AW25 is the first time the designer has focused on a show collection to inspire press attention rather than thinking solely of buyers and the pieces he will produce. “We did 240 pieces for pre-fall, thinking of the stores, and the show collection is a little more ‘free’,” he says. He’s experimented with more intricate details like leather embroidery, which would be too expensive to go into production in the brand’s price range. “Just this piece costs like €100,” he says, holding up a small square around the size of an A5 sheet of paper.
It could be a sign of what’s to come: di Morabito’s ultimate dream is to expand the brand to have a demi-couture or couture line. “My dream is to have an atelier here in Milan,” he says. “This year, I made [Giuseppe di Morabito brand manager] Isabella a custom dress for her wedding and two other friends’ wedding dresses. But I’d love to have a real client business in the future.”
The plan is also to open a mono-brand store, first in Milan and then maybe Paris down the line. “We don t have the dates at this moment, as you know, it’s a difficult period for everyone,” he says. “We want to take things slow.”
He may have taken his time to reach the runway. But today’s show won t be di Morabito’s last. He will “definitely” show next season and already has grand plans for September. “The goal is to keep going down that path, build something lasting, allow for growth over time and establish a stable presence,” he says. “We hope each show can lead to new opportunities.”
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