Zuhair Murad names Alessandro Cremonesi new CEO of RTW and accessories

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jun 30, 2017

In a move to boost his fashion house’s executive and organizational structure, Zuhair Murad has named Alessandro Cremonesi to be his new CEO of RTW and accessories.

A highly experienced exec, Cremonesi joins the Lebanese couture label after eight years as CEO of Jil Sander.
 
“Zuhair is an incredible designer. And also has one element that really surprised me – he has over four million followers on Instagram. He is so relevant now in terms of social media mainly because of HC. However, if you analyse the data his biggest group of fans are aged between 25 to 35 years old. So, there are lots of potential customers out there – worldwide. He is not just a Middle Eastern brand only,” insisted Cremonesi.

Born in Baalbek, Lebanon in 1971, Murad opened his first atelier in 1997, going on to debut in the Paris haute couture season in 2001. Four year later he launched a ready-to-wear colleciton; and in 2007 he inaugurated a Paris maison on rue François 1er, in the centre of the city’s “Triangle d’Or."
 
“What I have been asked to do is to strengthen the organization and to separate RTW from haute couture and and bridal,” said Cremonesi who joined the house in May. “We are reorganizing the flow of manufacturing and logistics. To fulfil the requirements of RTW is completely different from couture,” stressed Cremonesi, who revealed he had hired a senior merchandiser from McQueen and commercial director from Bottega Veneta.
 

Cremonesi has also opened a company in Lugano, with a commercial and logistics office. He said his goal was to, “create a new dimension for Zuhair’s ready-to-wear, maintaining the sensuality and the sexy element from haute couture, but tapping into all the another events in a woman’s life, from social gatherings to afternoon style.”
 
Known for his high glamour style, Murad has dressed the likes of Marisa Tomei, Ornella Muti, Céline Dion and Kate Mara.
 
Next up is a flagship store in Paris, and the new CEO is currently viewing two sites. Currently, the couturier has one major store in Beirut; a corner in Harrods and a franchise in Kuwait; as well as retailing through some  
70 wholesale customers.
 
By next spring, the goal is to stage a full ready-to-wear show with a complete bag and accessories collection in Paris in March.