From Margiela to Marni: OTB's creative shake-up may just be the beginning

Fashion United

9 hours ago

In a season of notable reshuffles across fashion's creative directors, the news of Meryll Rogge taking the helm at Marni might appear subdued compared to the drama at more headline-grabbing houses. But make no mistake, her appointment is a quietly significant moment not just for the Milanese label, but for its parent company, OTB, which has been carefully retooling its creative assets. The Italian fashion group, long considered a quieter sibling to Kering and LVMH, is now executing what can only be described as a calculated creative overhaul, starting with Maison Margiela, and now Marni, with Jil Sander waiting in the wings.
The biggest headline of this week has been the appointment of Meryll Rogge as creative director of Marni. Her arrival follows the June departure of Francesco Risso, whose intellectually maximalist vision may have earned cult status but never quite translated into market momentum. Rogge, a Belgian designer trained at Dries Van Noten and Marc Jacobs, represents a sharp pivot: minimal where Risso was expressive, architectural where he was romantic.
OTB appears to be recalibrating its brands for cultural longevity over fleeting buzz. Rogge's Marni promises a return to the label's modernist roots, playful but poised, less runway theatre and more wardrobe intelligence. It's a move that could reawaken a customer who drifted away during the previous tenure, especially if backed by a refined retail and merchandising strategy.
This appointment comes just days after Glenn Martens's couture debut at Maison Margiela, a show so technically sophisticated and creatively explosive it has already been declared the triumph of the couture season. That Martens was given the freedom to push boundaries speaks volumes about OTB's willingness to take meaningful risks. But just as crucial is the follow-through: Martens' success gives the group breathing room to execute subtler changes elsewhere.
Next up is Jil Sander, where Simone Bellotti, formerly at Bally and Gucci, will unveil his first full collection later this season. His quiet appointment this spring barely made headline compared to the Anderson and Grazia Chiuri shift at Dior, precisely the kind of soft launch that suits Jil Sander's DNA. The label has long catered to the purists of design, and Bellotti will need to balance its ascetic heritage with renewed relevance.
Taken together, these appointments aren't just creative reshuffles, they're strategic recalibrations of brand identity across OTB's portfolio. This is not a conglomerate chasing TikTok moments. It's playing a longer game: building houses with distinct, durable codes in an era when many brands blur into sameness.
Financially, OTB remains a mid-size player compared to the giants of luxury, but the group is betting on a future where creative substance wins over hype. If executed with discipline, the Rogge-Martens-Bellotti trifecta could represent a turning point—not only in aesthetic terms but in growth potential.
Because, as any seasoned observer will tell you, brand equity isn't just built on marketing campaigns and headlines, it's built on consistency, clarity, and creative conviction.