This morning, Marni’s parent company OTB announced that Meryll Rogge will be the next creative director of the Italian fashion house. The appointment comes just weeks after Francesco Risso stepped down from the role, which marked yet another shift at OTB–the business also owns Jil Sander (now led by Simone Bellotti) and Maison Margiela (now led by Glenn Martens). Rogge is one of very few women designers to be appointed to a top job in fashion right now, and someone whose name is not necessarily widely known. Originally from Belgium, she has helmed her eponymous label since 2020 and formerly worked for Marc Jacobs and Dries Van Noten, having served as head of womenswear design at the latter. She also won this year’s ANDAM Prize and was a finalist for the Woolmark Prize in 2025.
In a statement, chairman of OTB Renzo Rosso said, “Meryll impressed us with the sensitivity she brought to reinterpreting the brand’s DNA, offering a contemporary vision that embraces Marni globally and across all its dimensions.” He also called Rogge “an exceptional creative talent and an inspiring woman.” Rogge’s designs are filled with the kind of intelligence and handcrafted whimsy that has always set Marni apart in the world of luxury fashion. It has long been a label with a certain artistic point of view and a vision for clothes that favors playfulness over quiet luxury minimalism.
Marni was founded in 1994 by Consuelo Castiglioni, a woman who, like Rogge, created a wardrobe rooted in color, prints, and untraditional shapes. Rogge’s label takes unusual, feminine silhouettes like pouf skirts and ruffled shirts and turns them into something wild yet wearable, layering them with beautifully crafted, textured knits, big-shouldered jackets, and off-kilt prints. Rogge’s ability to blend practicality with statement-making fashion will serve her well in this role at Marni, as will her background in branding–she has her own creative consulting business and has worked with brands within LVMH and Puig, as well as her former colleague Van Noten.
It’s, of course, important to point out that Rogge is one of very few woman leading a major fashion house right now, and the only one within the OTB roster. But while headlines will hone in on this point today, it’s even more pertinent to point out that Rogge has incredible chops and is poised to succeed in this role, and will no doubt bring a breath of fresh air–and a lot of fun–to Marni.
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