As Denimwear expands, Gas Milano 1984 relaunches under new ownership
MILAN - Italian denimwear companies had lost their edge even before the COVID-19 pandemic 19 doesn't hit the mark, but the return of the Y2K aesthetic in recent seasons has once again put the spotlight on denim, opening up new opportunities for specialty brands that would otherwise be on the decline.
Gas was among the pre-pandemic casualties in the jeanswear arena, along with its former owner, the Grotto group dragging it out of bankruptcy and seeking a settlement with creditors that lasted five years.
Last spring, a group of white knights came to the rescue with a forensic takeover of the company, which is based in Chiuppano, Italy. Milano 1984 - a company controlled by entrepreneur and investor Andrea Citterio through his investment vehicle Duke, which is co-owned by Andrew Bordin - acquired a majority stake in Gas at a price set at €17.5 million .
Related GalleriesA third minority investor has been found in tech-savvy Alpha Square Invest, led by co-founder and CEO Rino Castiglione, with two other financial investors, DEA Capital and Amco, joining the group.
"The company emerged from five-year composition proceedings with creditors and was hit hard by COVID-19; it was a difficult landscape,” Board Member Castiglione said in an exclusive interview with WWD.
The financial and industrial stability of the brand, still weakened by the pandemic, was already impacted by a landscape change that hit the traditional wholesale-based, low-digital model of the 90s and 90s when the brand reached its peak.
"Our first initiatives were to build confidence in the team and come up with a plan out loud it it was not a financial operation but rather a business initiative to restore the brand to its former glory,” Castiglione said.
"The relaunch starts with the products... the denim offer will be essential because it represents the category Gas is recognized and proven for its quality and services… It has never been a strongly characterized fashion brand, its strength lies rather in its accessibility and versatility,” he said. explained.
A recent Gas Milano 1984 campaign. Courtesy of Gas Milano 1984The new management brought in two key creatives, recruited from the Guess Inc. stable. Gregoria Carmagnino, former chief designer of Guess, and Gianpaolo Camporese, head of design, menswear at the American denim giant, have been appointed to the positions of creative director and head of design.
MILAN - Italian denimwear companies had lost their edge even before the COVID-19 pandemic 19 doesn't hit the mark, but the return of the Y2K aesthetic in recent seasons has once again put the spotlight on denim, opening up new opportunities for specialty brands that would otherwise be on the decline.
Gas was among the pre-pandemic casualties in the jeanswear arena, along with its former owner, the Grotto group dragging it out of bankruptcy and seeking a settlement with creditors that lasted five years.
Last spring, a group of white knights came to the rescue with a forensic takeover of the company, which is based in Chiuppano, Italy. Milano 1984 - a company controlled by entrepreneur and investor Andrea Citterio through his investment vehicle Duke, which is co-owned by Andrew Bordin - acquired a majority stake in Gas at a price set at €17.5 million .
Related GalleriesA third minority investor has been found in tech-savvy Alpha Square Invest, led by co-founder and CEO Rino Castiglione, with two other financial investors, DEA Capital and Amco, joining the group.
"The company emerged from five-year composition proceedings with creditors and was hit hard by COVID-19; it was a difficult landscape,” Board Member Castiglione said in an exclusive interview with WWD.
The financial and industrial stability of the brand, still weakened by the pandemic, was already impacted by a landscape change that hit the traditional wholesale-based, low-digital model of the 90s and 90s when the brand reached its peak.
"Our first initiatives were to build confidence in the team and come up with a plan out loud it it was not a financial operation but rather a business initiative to restore the brand to its former glory,” Castiglione said.
"The relaunch starts with the products... the denim offer will be essential because it represents the category Gas is recognized and proven for its quality and services… It has never been a strongly characterized fashion brand, its strength lies rather in its accessibility and versatility,” he said. explained.
A recent Gas Milano 1984 campaign. Courtesy of Gas Milano 1984The new management brought in two key creatives, recruited from the Guess Inc. stable. Gregoria Carmagnino, former chief designer of Guess, and Gianpaolo Camporese, head of design, menswear at the American denim giant, have been appointed to the positions of creative director and head of design.
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