Burberry names Riccardo Tisci as its successor to Christopher Bailey

London - Riccardo Tisci, former Creative Director at Givenchy has been named as Burberry's new Chief Creative Officer. It seems as if the British heritage fashion house wasted no time in finding its successor to celebrated designer Christopher Bailey, as Tisci is set to take on his new role the 12th of March.

"I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry as its new Chief Creative Officer"

"I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry as its new Chief Creative Officer," said Riccardo Tisci on his new appointment in a statement from Burberry Group plc. "I have an enormous respect for Burberry's British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand."

Riccardo Tisci to succeed Christopher Bailey as Chief Creative Officer at Burberry

Tisci is set to oversee the creative direction of all of Burberry's collection and will present his first collection for the brand in September. He will be based at the British fashion house's headquarters in London, where he will work closely alongside of Marco Gobbetti, CEO of Burberry in strengthening the fashion house's position as one of the globe's leading luxury brands. This is not the first time Tisci and Gobbetti will be working together - the two previously worked together at Givenchy, when Gobbetti was President and CEO of Givenchy, a role he held from 2004 to 2008.

The Italian designer, born in Lombardy in 1974, added that he was also honoured and delighted to be "reuniting with Marco Gobbetti" at the British fashion house. Although Tisci's appointment at Burberry may come as a surprise to some, as industry favourites to succeed Bailey included Phoebe Philo from Celine and Kim Jones from Louis Vuitton, when considering his former working relationship with Gobbetti, his move to Burberry seems natural.

"I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry as Chief Creative Officer"

"I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry as Chief Creative Officer," noted Marco Gobbetti, CEO of Burberry. "Riccardo is one of the most talented designers of our time. His designs have an elegance that is contemporary and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today's luxury consumer. Riccardo's creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury."

Tisci's appointment at Burberry comes more than a year after he left Givenchy, where he spent 12 years at the helm. During his tenure at Givenchy Tisci was in charge of the fashion house's haute couture, womenswear, menswear, accessories and leather goods. Although his name was virtually unknown in most households when LVMH named him creative director at Givenchy, he went on become on of the industry's most celebrated designers due to his ability to meld fashion with emerging subcultures and celebrities.

Click through the slideshow to take a look at Christopher Bailey's final collection for Burberry.

Tisci to carve a new path for Burberry following Bailey's departure

Over the years he took Givenchy through numerous incarnations, mixing a dark goth aesthetic with African tribal looks and Catholic imagery to create a unique look that other designers scrambled to recreate. In addition to his success at Givenchy, the Italian designer is also well known for surrounding himself with a diverse group of collaborators. He previously created costumes for performance artist Marina Abramovic and directed the artwork for the multi-award winning ‘Watch the Throne’ album by Jay Z and Kanye West.

Tisci also designed numerous stage outfits for the Madonna, Beyoncé, and Rihanna, thereby introducing his aesthetic to an even wider audience. His ongoing collaboration with Nike, which first began in 2014, has further cemented his position as one of the industry's most influential designers. He has also been applauded for being the first designer to select a transgender model to star in his ad campaign and his diverse casting of models for his runway shows.

Life at Burberry without Christopher Bailey

The new appointment comes weeks after Christopher Bailey presented his final collection for Burberry during London Fashion Week AW18. The collection, which drew on different areas of street style, highlighted LGBTQ+ rights, in homage to Bailey's own sexual orientation, as well as Burberry's own rich and colourful past. Bailey, who first announced his impending departure last October following a 17-year tenure, is set to pursue, new unnamed creative projects. He will remain on the company board as President until March 31, after which he will step down from the company board. However, he is set to remain with the company in a transitional advisory role, offering his "full support" to Tisci and Gobbetti as well as the rest of the team until he finally exits the fashion house by the end of the year.

"The market has reacted positively to Burberry’s latest announcement as Riccardo Tisci, a graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins, will be able to breathe new life into the company and bring a fresh perspective to the luxury British brand. With six months to go before Tisci presents his first show for Burberry in September, he will have time to firmly establish himself in the business and lay out his creative vision for the renowned brand," commented Charlotte Pearce, Retail Analyst at GlobalData on the appointment. "Following a successive stellar performance over the past year, Burberry’s latest Q3 results disappointingly showed sales had slowed up against tough comparatives, so it is imperative that Tisci and CEO Marco Gobbetti work closely together over the coming months, as they would have at Givenchy, to reinvigorate the Burberry brand, with product being top of the agenda."

Homepage Photo: Givenchy AW16/ Catwalkpictures

Photo slider: Courtesy of Burberry, February 18 Collection.