EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Kearns Named Chief Creative Officer of Cerruti 1881, Kent & Curwen
LONDON — The Guangzhou-based fashion company Biem.L.Fdlkk Garment Co., which earlier this year purchased the global trademarks for Cerruti 1881 and Kent & Curwen, has welcomed designer Daniel Kearns back as chief creative officer for both brands.
Kearns had previously served as creative director at Kent & Curwen from 2016 to 2021, when David Beckham was involved with the brand. Kearns will start his new, double role in October, with the first men’s and women’s collections launching in September 2024.
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An announcement is expected Wednesday.
Kearns has previously held design director positions at Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Zegna, and has spent the past year as men’s design director at Gucci.
“We are thrilled that Daniel Kearns is joining the team here at Biem Group to lead Cerruti 1881 and Kent & Curwen creatively,” said Xie Bingzheng, founder of Biem.L.Fdlkk Garment Co.
“As we build our group globally in the luxury sector, Daniel has the right creative authority to design collections that speak to the target customers of both brands. His experience in sportswear, luxury ready-to-wear, retail and accessories is exceptional, and we look forward to seeing his first collections come to life in 2024,” he added.
Kearns said his return to Kent & Curwen “feels like a wonderful coming home for me,” and added that Cerruti 1881 “has such a rich heritage and huge potential to be redefined for a contemporary customer. I am looking forward to working closely with Mr. Xie and the team at Biem to build these brands and their communities globally.”
Cerruti 1881’s previous designers, apart from the namesake, the late Nino Cerruti, have included Roberto Menichetti, Nicolas Andreas Taralis, Jean-Paul Knott, and Jason Basmajian.
According to the new owners, the plan is to launch Cerruti 1881 as a contemporary luxury ready-to-wear menswear and womenswear brand “that remains true to its distinctive ethos of fine fabrics, meticulous craftsmanship and intelligent design.”
Kent & Curwen will also relaunch for men and women and remain in the contemporary market.
Biem.L.Fdlkk Garment Co. is a publicly traded clothing retailer founded in 2003 by Xie Bingzheng.
It specializes in golf clothing, with a 70 percent-plus market share in China, and also owns the Chinese travel and vacation apparel brand Carnaval De Venise.
It has an ongoing relationship with the Chinese national golf team, and dressed it for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
The company has 1,191 stores across China, and an ongoing partnership with Tencent to support its online and offline channels. In 2022 its revenue was just over $395 million.
As reported, Biem.L.Fdlkk Garment Co. purchased the global trademarks for Cerruti 1881 and Kent & Curwen from Shandong Ruyi earlier this year.
The Chinese golf apparel giant said it paid the equivalent of $62.18 million for the global trademark rights of Cerruti 1881, and $41.45 million for the global trademark of Kent & Curwen.
The two brands were previously owned by Trinity Ltd., as was Gieves & Hawkes, which was sold to Frasers Group last November.
From 2015 to 2019, Kent & Curwen partnered with David Beckham in a bid to reach a younger crowd, and put the focus on sporty separates rather than tailoring.
Beckham eventually exited the partnership in 2020 after the brand reported losses of 18 million pounds under Shandong Ruyi management. Kent & Curwen ceased trading the following year. Its London head office shut, and retail teams were let go.
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