Moschino goes to the Sunnei founders — the pair who staged a show as an auction
Their last show was not a show but a mock auction with bidding in “fashion dollars.” They announced their exit hours later. Now they inherit Franco Moschino’s house.
Moschino has appointed Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo as creative directors, effective immediately, replacing Adrian Appiolaza, parent company Aeffe said.
Messina and Rizzo are the founders of Sunnei, and the pick fits a house with a legacy of irony and surrealism. Their last Sunnei show, in September 2025, was not a show at all but a mock auction where the room bid in “fashion dollars.” They announced their departure from their own brand hours later.
“In the evolution of a fashion house, the ability to balance identity and innovation is essential. Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo possess the qualities required to embrace this challenge: a contemporary creative vision, a deep cultural sensibility, and the ability to develop relevant and distinctive creative languages,” said Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of Aeffe S.p.A.
“We have always admired Franco Moschino’s ability to challenge conventions through creativity while maintaining a clear and consistent voice. It is a rare quality,” Messina and Rizzo said. “Moschino has always embodied this attitude as a cultural house driven by a strong, recognizable, and radical point of view, using pop culture as a critical tool rather than merely an aesthetic language.”
Sunnei was founded in 2014 as a direct-to-consumer menswear brand, expanding to womenswear in 2018. In 2020 the pair sold a majority stake to the Vanguards Group for €6 million, which at times meant making safer decisions, as Rizzo has acknowledged. Both came to design from non-traditional backgrounds: Messina worked in visual merchandising at Gucci, Rizzo as a digital manager and buyer.
The open question is the state of the house. The creative switch comes less than two weeks after Riccardo Bagolin was named general manager of Aeffe on June 3. In May, Moschino told shareholders it was insolvent, and more than 200 group-wide layoffs came at the end of 2025. Bagolin is tasked with the turnaround alongside chief restructuring officer Stefano Falliti.
The duo’s debut collection will be unveiled in September 2026 during Milan Fashion Week.