New Guards Group names Cristiano Fagnani chief marketing officer

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 17, 2020

Italian fashion group New Guards Group (NGG), which in 2019 was bought by UK fashion and luxury e-tailer Farfetch, has appointed Cristiano Fagnani to the newly created post of chief marketing officer. Fagnani, 45, joins NGG from Nike, where he was in charge of influencer marketing at the US sport giant’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

In a press release, NGG noted how “Fagnani has established a strong relationship with the NGG team and some of its key designers over the years, devising and developing the long-standing Nike x Off-White collaboration with Virgil Abloh, as well as the partnership between Nike and Ambush, a Tokyo-based label founded by the creative duo composed of Yoon Ahn and rapper Verbal.”

NGG was founded in 2016 by Davide de Giglio, Claudio Antonioli and Marcelo Burlon. In a little over three years, it has become a leading player in streetwear, as the owner of uber-directional labels like Off-White, Palm Angels, Alanui and Heron Preston. The group’s brand portfolio also includes Marcelo Burlon County of Milan, Unravel Project and Kirin by Peggy Gou, in addition to Ambush and Opening Ceremony, the latter two acquired in January under the aegis of NGG's new owner, Farfetch.

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Indeed, Farfetch is keen to add to its posse of high-end, designer-led urban labels and, as underlined in the press release, the introduction of a CMO role marks “a significant step in the definition of the group's new organisation, targeting new opportunities for continued growth.”

Italian manager Fagnani joined Nike in 1999, taking up several executive roles in the group’s marketing and communication departments for Italy, the EMEA region and eventually at Nike’s world headquarters in Portland, where he was in charge of collaborations, influencer marketing and brand experience.

After a long career away from his native country, Fagnani is returning to Italy, specifically Milan, where NGG is based, “to lead the marketing teams of [NGG] and all its labels, in close collaboration with Farfetch.”

“We’ve long admired the work Cristiano has been doing at Nike. He has a keen eye for the market and for what resonates with consumers around the world, and an incredible ability to bring the stories behind the designers and products to life with emotion and excitement,” said Davide De Giglio, co-founder and CEO of New Guards Group.