Sunnei Founders Step Down after Decade of Unique Vision

MILAN – Sunnei’s show in collaboration with auction house Christie’s – conceived as a mock auction – marked the final appearance of founders Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina at the helm. During Friday afternoon’s event, the pair symbolically put themselves and the brand up for auction. Sardonic,dry,and delightfully unconventional,the gesture was a distinctly “Sunnei” way of signaling their departure as they prepare to explore new ventures.

A Quiet Exit, True to Form

Rizzo and Messina remained publicly silent at the event, choosing instead to share their decision now, consistent with their personal and idiosyncratic approach to buisness and communication. This approach has garnered them a devoted following within the fashion intelligentsia, while maintaining their status as outsiders to the mainstream Milanese scene.

“Everything we do is spontaneous, uncomplicated and comes from the guts,” Rizzo and Messina shared, speaking from their car the night before the event, visibly emotional. “We both felt it was the right moment to turn the page. We just know that when our minds align on a feeling, we have to act. We’re slow burners, constantly questioning ourselves, but after ten years of Sunnei we just knew we needed new adventures. This is a decision that we took quietly: we feel solid, calm, aware.”

“Sunnei is the organism we have created,but it is autonomous from us. It can further grow by itself: the team is just marvelous,” Rizzo added.

From University Project to Fashion Darling

Rizzo and Messina founded Sunnei in 2014, immediatly after university. Untrained as designers but brimming with ideas, they recognized a gap in the Italian market for truly new brands – a gap that persists to some extent today. They quickly attracted a diverse, trans-generational fanbase drawn to their unique “kindergarten for adults” aesthetic.

Wary of the conventional fashion system,the pair deliberately avoided young designer competitions and shunned fashion cliques,a stance that has earned them a reputation for being antipatici among some in the Milanese fashion community.

Growth and Investment

In September 2020, Vanguards, a fashion and lifestyle fund backed by Hungary’s Export-Import bank and co-founded by Nanushka chief executive Peter Baldaszti, invested €6 million into Sunnei. This injection of capital allowed the brand to expand its operations.

They solidified their position through innovative events, transforming small budgets into viral successes, such as crowdsurfing models and live audience-ranked fashion contests. The brand’s reach extended beyond fashion, encompassing an online radio station, home goods, and a café.

The designers declined to comment on their plans for their remaining stake in the brand.

What’s Next?

“ideas is what we are quite good at,” say Loris and Simone, offering no specific details about their future plans as “We don’t have any, but here we are ready to take on any challenge that comes our way.”

Messina and Rizzo’s strength lies in their ability to provide innovative ideas to brands of all sizes. Their blend of dadaism and naiveté masks sharp minds and a remarkable ability to deliver messages with genuine unpretentiousness. They are agents provocateurs disguised as approachable individuals. Beyond their youthful appearance,they possess a clear vision for their areas of interest,wich are remarkably broad.

A Unique Business Philosophy

Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina’s signature is an unconventional approach to business – doing things differently, but in a way that attracts attention and customers. in the current fashion landscape, this approach could be widely applicable.They excel at avoiding cynicism in favor of amusing authenticity. “Our idea, in a nutshell, is that fashion can be clever, and entice good feeling,” they conclude. That’s a good plan, for business and or else.

Publication Date: 2025/09/26 19:05:27