Just ten days after his appointment as Moschino’s new creative director, Davide Renne dies

Moschino’s new designer that was not meant to be Davide Renne. Photo: daviderenne/Instagram

We woke up to the news shared by Moschino on Instagram about eight hours ago: The brand’s new hire for the creative director position vacated by Jeremy Scott in March this year, Davide Renne, has passed away. Moschino informed that his death was due to “a sudden illness”, without providing specifics. At least one news site claims that it was a heart attack that took his life, although that has not been confirmed by Mr Renne’s family. The shock of the demise of their new guy at the design helm is palpable. Under an image of a sketched heart shape in red, the comment included a statement from Massimo Ferretti, the chairman of Aeffe SpA—Moschino’s parent company: “There are no words to describe the pain we are experiencing at this dramatic time… We still can’t believe what happened.” Mr Renne was 46.

The Italian designer was hired only in October and, according to Moschino, came onboard on 1 November. His first collection for the Italian house was expected to debut during Milan Fashion Week next February. Mr Ferretti revealed that they “were working on an ambitious project, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and optimism for the future.” How ambitious that really was is unclear, but Mr Renne had, at the time of his appointment, said, “What fashion—Italian fashion especially, and the House of Moschino most of all, can achieve with its enormous power, should be accomplished with a sense of play, of joy. A sense of discovery and experimentation.” Fashion watchers, pleased that the brand is back in the hands of an Italian designer, have been eagerly waiting to see what Mr Renne could bring to Moschino.

Born in the seaside town of Follonica on the Tuscan coast, Davide Renne attended the University of Florence and later Polimoda Fashion School. After he graduated, he cut his teeth at Alessandro Dell’Acqua, whom he considered his “teacher and mentor”. He joined Gucci in 2014. According to WWD, he “designed the women’s collections for two decades at Gucci, eventually becoming head designer of womenswear” under the watch of Alessandro Michele. Much was expected of Mr Renne’s Moschino. Following his appointment, his alma mater Polimoda commented on a blog post that his new role “highlights the remarkable talent and untapped potential embodied by Renne. His arrival promises a fresh infusion of creative dynamism into the realm of high fashion.” But very quickly, as Aeffe SpA chairman Massimo Ferretti said, “we are left with the responsibility of carrying on what his imagination and creativity had only envisioned.” It is not clear if that meant the MFW show will go on.