Borbonese Embarks on Creative Change of Guard, Appointing Sustainable Accessories Specialist Duo

Sandra Salibian
·2 min read

MILAN — Borbonese has named Francesca Monaco and Salar Bicheranloo its new creative directors. The real-life couple succeeds Dorian Tarantini and Matteo Mena, who were appointed in 2019 when the storied brand launched a new line called 1910 Borbonese and tasked the M1992 creative directors to design women’s collections as well as accessories.

Monaco and Bicheranloo’s first effort for the brand will bow with the spring 2025 collection to be presented during Milan Fashion Week in September.

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The new creative directors are already behind vegan accessories label Themoirè, which the duo launched in 2019 with the aim of having a brand with the lowest environmental impact and involved in social initiatives. Since the launch, Themoirè has garnered attention for its bags combining vintage flair with eco-friendly materials, spanning from natural ones, such as cork, cotton, raffia, wood and straw, to innovative alternatives, including fabrics derived from pineapple leaves, apple waste and orange peels, to name a few.

It is understood that Monaco and Bicheranloo are to bring their sustainable mindset and technical expertise to Borbonese, boosting its core accessories business.

Borbonese’s chief executive officer Alessandro Pescara said the new creative leadership “will ensure that the brand’s internationalization moves in the right direction and in perfect alignment with the company’s efforts in recent years.”

“Under this new leadership, we will be taking further steps in our research into innovative materials from recycled and recyclable sources, low-impact processing to protect people and the environment, constant quality control, and materials that are highly functional yet in line with the creativity and style of the Borbonese fashion house,” said Pescara.

“This role represents an exciting challenge for Salar and me: our self-appointed mission is to build on Borbonese’s incredible heritage and reinterpret it through a lens of modernity and awareness, values that have always been close to our hearts, without distorting its soul,” said Monaco.

The duo has more than 20 years of experience in the fashion and design industry, having collaborated with other brands before launching Themoirè. Their joint creative journey began in Milan in 2010, a year after Bicheranloo also launched his first bag brand Salar, which is still operating and more trend-oriented compared to Themoirè.

Borbonese was started in Turin, Italy, in 1910 under the ownership of Umberto Minestrone and Edoardo Calcagno, supplying necklaces, bracelets and other accoutrements to Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi, Galitzine and Ungaro. Known for its bird’s-eye pattern, the brand rose to a peak of success in the ’70s and has expanded, adding over time different product lines such as clothing, fur items, home decor, complements and linen, aiming to create a true global lifestyle offering.

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