By Valentine Fabre
Credit: Anne Demeulemeester
Less than a week after it was announced that Ludovic De Saint Sernin would exit his role, the Belgian house has appointed Stefano Gallici to be its new Creative Director He will present his first collection on September 30th.
Beginning his career as an assistant designer in Haider Ackermann’s eponymous brand, at only 27 years old, the young designer was already a part of the family. Joining the Antonioli Group (owner of Ann Demeulemeester) in 2020 as a menswear designer for the brand, the same year the Group acquired the brand. According to Claudio Antonioli “Stefano immediately demonstrated a strong creativity and a clear vision for Ann Demeulemeester [...] He represents the DNA of the brand with an eye to the future.”
Created in 1985, Ann Demeulemeester’s eponymous house is one of the original Antwerp six alongside Dries Van Noten or Walter Van Beirendonck. Thanks to her emotional take on rock’n’roll and romantic gothic approach, the brand rapidly gained traction and became reverred in the industry. In 1995, WWD named her “Queen Ann” following a sensational collection of designs featuring languid silhouettes and bowler hats which all embodied the dark and brooding mood she was known for. In 2013, the designer decided to move on to other ventures such as poetry and ceramics and sold her brand to entrepreneur Anne Chapelle.
After her departure, French fashion designer Sébastien Meunier took over the role of Creative Director until 2020, after which designs were made by an in-house team. In December 2022, Ludovic De Saint Sernin was named Creative Director. But after only six months and only one collection, he announced his departure for “management differences”.
With Stefano Gallici’s appointment, the brand sets the path for a newer, and lesser known, generation of designers, in alignment with other high-end brands. Since its acquisition in 2020 by the Antonioli Group, Ann Demeulemeester has seen its brand completely renewed. Almost all the manufacturing has moved to Italy, and 42 of the 48 employees of the original team were dismissed, to be replaced by 25 new recruits in Milan. However, despite all efforts, under Antonioli’s reign, the brand has received very mixed, if not, harsh reviews for its collections. Whilst Ludovic De Saint Sernin’s short stay at the house created great traction for the it-girls, such as Kendall Jenner or Hunter Schafer, it is now in Gallici’s hands to give the brand its title of fashion star back.
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