Moschino has named Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo, founders of Milan based label Sunnei, as its new co creative directors. The announcement marks a new chapter for the Aeffe owned house and follows Adrian Appiolaza’s departure after two and a half years in the role.
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Messina and Rizzo arrive at Moschino with a reputation built on irreverence, community, performance and sharp brand thinking. Since founding Sunnei in 2014, the duo developed one of Milan’s most distinctive independent labels, shaping a language that treated fashion as product, platform and cultural experiment. Sunnei began as a direct to consumer menswear brand before expanding into womenswear in 2018, and its growth brought the label into a wider international conversation.
Their appointment feels closely aligned with Moschino’s own history of satire, provocation and pop culture critique. Franco Moschino built the house on a radical sense of humour, using fashion to question taste, status, consumption and convention. Messina and Rizzo have often worked in a similar register, turning runway shows into participatory acts and brand moments into commentary on the fashion system itself.
Sunnei’s recent shows strengthened that reputation. In September 2025, the pair staged a mock auction house performance using “fashion dollars,” turning the mechanics of value, hype and desire into the subject of the show. The gesture followed earlier presentations that invited audiences to take part, including the Spring Summer 2024 show where guests scored looks with paddles. Behind the showmanship, the designers built a clear commercial identity and a loyal following.
Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of Aeffe S.p.A., described the appointment as a move shaped by the need to balance identity and innovation. He pointed to Messina and Rizzo’s contemporary vision, cultural sensitivity and ability to create distinctive languages as central to Moschino’s next phase.
For Messina and Rizzo, the role means entering a house with one of fashion’s clearest voices. The designers said they have long admired Franco Moschino’s ability to challenge conventions through creativity while maintaining a recognizable point of view. They described Moschino as a cultural house that uses pop culture as a critical tool, a position that fits their own instinct for irony, participation and disruption.
The appointment also arrives at a decisive moment for Moschino and Aeffe. The group has entered a period of restructuring, with Riccardo Bagolin recently named general manager and Stefano Falliti working as chief restructuring officer. Against that backdrop, Messina and Rizzo bring both creative energy and business experience. Before Sunnei, Messina worked in visual merchandising at Gucci, while Rizzo worked as a digital manager and buyer.
Their first Moschino collection will debut in September 2026 during Milan Fashion Week. For a house built on wit, contradiction and cultural critique, the choice suggests a return to fashion that speaks loudly, thinks fast and knows exactly how to turn the system into material.
