(Yicai) Sept. 8 -- Icicle has named Sabato De Sarno as its new creative director, a position he previously held at Gucci, marking the first time a Chinese fashion brand appoints a creative vision lead from an international luxury house.

De Sarno will oversee the creative direction for Icicle's menswear, womenswear, accessories, and eyewear collections, the Shanghai-based company announced yesterday. His first collection will be presented for fall/winter 2027-2028, it added.

Born in 1983, De Sarno is considered a promising mid-career designer in the fashion industry. He began his career at Prada and later worked for Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino.

During his time at Gucci from 2023 to last year, he transformed the Italian fashion house's aesthetic from the elaborate vintage style of his predecessor to a more minimalist, gender-neutral vision. However, the shift was criticized by some for being disconnected from the market, which contributed to his early departure from the company.

"Since Icicle was founded in 1997, our ambition has always been to reconnect people with nature through enduring fashion," said Chief Executive and co-founder Ye Shouzeng. "We believe this vision can only be realized by bringing together creative talent from around the world with Icicle's deep cultural roots and industrial strength in China."

Icicle represents premium fashion in China, focusing on simplicity, elegance, and comfort, while also adhering to the use of natural fabrics and environmentally friendly practices. The brand has gradually advanced in the market by offering everyday wear well-suited for urban professional settings.

Compared with the high-performance pressures in the luxury goods industry, the minimalist and premium positioning of Icicle may offer De Sarno new creative inspiration and opportunities. His involvement is expected to inject a more global design language into Chinese fashion brands, helping build differentiated competitiveness.

"I've always been fascinated by design beyond the final product, from the origins of raw materials to the craftsmanship that shapes them," De Sarno noted. "I was drawn to Icicle by the deep alignment between its principles and my own creative philosophy. Harmony between humans and nature is an idea Icicle has explored for nearly thirty years, and it feels to me more relevant today than ever."

In 2018, Icicle acquired the French brand Carven and, after integration, set up ICCF Group in Paris in 2021, which became its main entity for global business operations. The move also signaled the beginning of a new chapter for the Chinese fashion industry as it ventures into the international market.

In April, Gucci's parent firm Kering agreed to make a minority equity investment in ICCF and support its global expansion efforts, so the appointment of De Sarno may not be coincidental.

Despite the fashion industry's contraction over the past few years, Icicle has maintained a double-digit compound annual growth rate, while running more than 200 stores worldwide. Its annual revenue has exceeded EUR300 million (USD350 million).

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev