The Italian Pop Star Will Debut His First Capsule Collection for the Brand at Milan’s San Siro Stadium
Dondup is turning to music and pop culture for its next creative chapter, naming Italian singer and performer Achille Lauro as Creative Director of the brand.
The appointment is effective immediately and marks the first major move by Chief Executive Officer Mauro Grange, who took the helm of the Italian fashion label late last year.
Lauro will oversee the creative direction of Dondup’s womenswear, menswear and accessories collections, with his first project for the brand set to debut on June 15 during his concert at Milan’s San Siro Stadium. The initial release will focus exclusively on womenswear.
“I’m truly delighted that Lauro is joining our team as Dondup’s Creative Director in what we see as a long-term partnership,” Grange said in a statement. “Thanks to his deep artistic sensibility and his appreciation for our brand’s heritage, I’m confident he will lead the creative team with a distinctive vision and help write Dondup’s next chapter.”
Born Lauro De Marinis in Verona in 1990 and raised in Rome, Achille Lauro first emerged through Italy’s underground rap scene before breaking into the mainstream with his 2019 Sanremo Music Festival performance of “Rolls Royce.” Since then, he has become one of Italy’s most recognizable pop culture figures, known for theatrical performances, fluid style codes and fashion-forward stage personas.
Though he has no formal fashion training, Lauro has built strong ties with luxury fashion houses throughout his career. His Alessandro Michele-era Gucci looks at Sanremo in 2020 generated widespread attention for challenging traditional gender codes and reinterpreting Italian cultural symbolism through fashion.
More recently, Lauro served as a judge on Italy’s “X-Factor” and performed at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics wearing Dolce & Gabbana.
According to Dondup, the June capsule collection will serve as a manifesto for Lauro’s creative vision, blending sensuality with tailored and masculine influences. His first full collection for the brand is expected to debut in September and will include Dondup’s signature denim categories.
Founded in 1999 in Fossombrone, Italy, Dondup built its reputation around premium Italian-made denim and contemporary ready-to-wear. The brand has not had an official Creative Director since Co-Founder Manuela Mariotti exited in 2017.
The company is currently owned by the Made in Italy Fund, the private equity platform managed by Quadrivio and Pambianco, which acquired Dondup from L Catterton in 2021.
Lauro’s appointment reflects fashion’s growing embrace of cross-disciplinary creative leadership, as brands increasingly look to musicians and cultural figures to shape image, storytelling and product direction in ways that extend beyond traditional fashion design backgrounds.