Trussardi is coming back (once again)

The revival of Trussardi represents one of the most ambitious and challenging operations in contemporary Italian fashion. Having been revived more times than Krillin from Dragon Ball or Taylor from The Bold and the Beautiful, the brand holds a special place among fashion insiders for a certain nostalgia factor and its past ubiquity during its decline in the early 2000s. However, despite multiple attempts, Trussardi has never fully regained its former glory. The last time it made headlines, the crash was more severe than usual. Trussardi retains the allure of an uninhabited island, rich in resources, that every three or four years attracts new entrepreneurs who attempt to claim and cultivate it. After all, many bon vivants in Milan still miss their restaurant in Piazza della Scala. In short, the brand is under new management and seems ready for yet another launch. As reported by MF Fashion, Trussardi is now led by CEO Alberto Racca and the Miroglio Group, which acquired the brand in spring 2023 for €35 million through the Quattro R fund and now aims to bring it back to prominence, as befits this veteran of Milanese fashion. But how?

According to statements made by Alberto Racca to MF Fashion, the revival strategy is based on three main pillars: distribution, product, and global positioning. During the presentation of the FW25 collection, the first under new management, Racca outlined the details of the plan: closing 2024 with a turnover of €20 to €25 million, with sales distribution evenly divided between wholesale (40-45%), direct retail (30-35%), and online channels (20%). The launch of the new Trussardi.com e-commerce platform is scheduled for next June, accompanied by partnerships with major global e-tailers to ensure a strong presence in the digital market. Simultaneously, Trussardi is working on opening a flagship store in Milan (according to the CEO, a new location is being sought, so the famous store at La Scala will likely remain under the Trussardi family’s ownership). This new store is expected to debut with the winter collection and serve as the cornerstone of the “new” Trussardi, while the brand’s return to the fashion week runway is planned but not before 2026. The brand will also leverage its strongest international markets: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Currently, 60% of Trussardi’s sales come from abroad, but the goal is to increase this share to 70% within the next two years.

A central element of the revival is the product. The FW25 collection, as explained by Cosimo Dorato, Trussardi’s design and product director with past experience at Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Oakley, aims to reinterpret the brand’s aesthetic with the strength of a 30-person collective team. The collection has been presented with a very simple lookbook, showcasing leather accessories such as bags and gloves, jeans, field jackets in suede, and total suede looks with denim-effect prints. The new-old circular logo remains, along with other branding elements. Many inspirations come from Trussardi’s historical archive, which includes over 60,000 pieces, from clothing to branded items like bicycles and porcelain. Judging from the lookbook and MF Fashion’s interview, the brand’s return seems more restrained and thoughtful this time: during its last revival, the aim was to catapult the brand into Milan’s fierce fashion context without compromise. The allure of its name and the designers Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby (the duo behind the fascinating German brand GmbH) partly worked, but at the time, management overreached, attempting to position the brand in the luxury segment without solid organic growth. We all know how that ended.

Things seem better now. Racca stated, "People want a meeting point between the intrinsic value of a garment, its usability, and its story, increasingly seeking meaning," emphasizing that  the brand’s new target is not luxury customers (who have largely disappeared lately) but rather "a very cool, refined professional living in an Italian or European province, someone who doesn’t chase fleeting trends," and that accessibility will be one of the key factors in the revival. However, we all know what fate the brand would face if it re-entered the market with price points that currently drive customers away from major luxury retailers. The idea appears to be to position Trussardi in the higher end of the middle market—a necessary move in a period when even luxury giants are revising their pricing policies. Another fundamental aspect of the revival is Trussardi’s operational independence from the Miroglio Group. As the CEO explained to MF Fashion, the management of product, marketing, distribution, and customer relationships will remain autonomous, while synergies with Miroglio will be limited to back-office operations, including logistics and finance. This balance ensures that Trussardi retains its identity while benefiting from the structural support of the group.