Young Swedish stylist Lars Nilsson is to take over the creative helm at Gianfranco Ferre', the Italian fashion house whose founder and chief designer died earlier this year.
Nilsson, 40, who was creative director at Nina Ricci in Paris from 2003 to 2006, will oversee all Gianfranco Ferre' clothing collections and accessories "with immediate effect", the Milan-based maison said.
His first job will be to prepare the Gianfranco Ferre' men's autumn and winter collection which is due to be shown on catwalks in January. A month later his first women's pret-a-porter collection will appear.
Tonino Perna, chairman of Gianfranco Ferre' SpA, said he had no doubts about Nilsson's ability to do the job.
"He has talent of an international level and is perfectly able to carry forward the creative evolution of the brand made immortal by Gianfranco Ferre'," he said.
The much-admired Swedish designer won positive reviews during his three years at Nina Ricci during which he developed what fashion writers called an easy feminine style and a preference for "refined and preppy looks".
He went to Ricci via a career which saw him work at some of the most prestigious Parisian houses (Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Dior) and also at Ralph Lauren Polo and Bill Blass in New York.
Working for Bill Blass, he won attention thanks to the sophisticated combinations he put on New York catwalks. One of his favourites was a lilac, double-faced silk-satin trenchcoat worn over paprika silk-velvet trousers.
Nilsson left Nina Ricci for reasons never fully explained, shortly after a collection inspired by Ingmar Bergman's 1955 film "Smiles of a Summer Night".
Gianfranco Ferre', who founded the fashion house of the same name in 1978, died on June 17 after a brain haemorrhage. His demise threw Italy's fashion world into mourning.
Ferre' was known in the trade as the 'architect of fashion' because of the degree in architecture he earned at Milan's Polytechnic Institute and the structured style of his creations.
Giorgio Armani said he was "a civilized man. I will remember him for his sense of dignity, calm and responsibility". Valentino observed that Ferre' was "one of the greatest talents in Italian fashion and one of the sweetest people in the world of fashion".
