Villa Eugénie Appoints Virginie Trapenard as Head of Communication and Marketing
Villa Eugénie has appointed Virginie Trapenard as Head of Communication and Marketing, a newly created role within the Brussels-founded events and creative production agency led by Etienne Russo. The move signals a more formalized communications structure for the company as it sharpens its positioning within an increasingly consolidated global events sector.
Trapenard will report to Russo, founder and art director, and Sandrine Guétin, deputy general manager. Based in Paris, she is tasked with reinforcing Villa Eugénie’s brand presence and aligning its communications strategy with the agency’s expanding international scope.
She joins from Milan-based accessories brand Boyy, where she served for three years as global communications and marketing director. Prior to that, Trapenard was senior vice president of global communications and managing director of the Paris office at Karla Otto. Her earlier career includes roles at Totem in Paris, as well as senior positions at KCD Paris and Givenchy.
In parallel with Trapenard’s appointment, Villa Eugénie has named Hervé Cosmao, founder of image and communications agency Syncro, as strategic consultant. Cosmao will focus on strengthening the agency’s events and VIP ecosystem. His previous roles include communications director at Rabanne, head of PR, press and VIP at Maison Margiela, and manager of press relations at Louis Vuitton.
The appointments come at a time of increasing consolidation across the global events and experiential production landscape. French creative consulting firm Mazarine counts La Mode en Images and Arter among its portfolio companies, while The Independents group has acquired agencies including Bureau Betak, Prodject and Kennedy.
Founded in 1997 in Brussels, his hometown, Russo established Villa Eugénie after an early career in modeling for Dries Van Noten. A longstanding creative partnership with the Antwerp-based designer helped define the agency’s multidisciplinary approach to show production. Over nearly three decades, Villa Eugénie has evolved from runway staging to immersive environments and multisensory projects that extend beyond the show format.
Today, the agency operates offices in Brussels, Paris, New York and Milan, producing large-scale shows and brand environments for houses including Chanel, Hermès and Dries Van Noten, while also collaborating with emerging designers such as Hodakova, Robert Wun and Marie Adam-Leenaerdt.