Italian menswear house Canali has appointed Alessio Lillocci as its new Creative Director, only the third time in the brand’s 91-year history that an external creative has been brought in to lead its design direction. For a house that has spent the better part of its existence without a named creative figurehead, this is a meaningful step forward.
A fabric merchant and a tailor, brothers Giovanni and Giacomo Canali, built the brand from the ground up in 1934. For the bulk of its history, creative decisions were handled from within, with the brand spending the better part of the last decade relying solely on its in-house design team.
Of the few exceptions, one came in 2014, when menswear designer Andrea Pompilio was brought in as a creative consultant, the first time the house had ever looked outside for creative direction. After two years and four collections, both parties ended that arrangement mutually. The brand appointed Hyun-Wook Lee as its creative director in 2018 for a brief period, before returning to its internal creative model.
Lillocci’s career has been shaped entirely within serious Italian menswear. Born in Umbria in 1977, he grew up around his mother’s tailoring workshop, an early education in how clothes are actually made. He joined Brunello Cucinelli in 2002, initially working directly alongside the founder in the menswear style office, and by 2007 had risen to head of the men’s style office, overseeing apparel, footwear, and accessories. Over two decades inside one of fashion’s admired houses showed him that restraint is not the absence of vision, it is the vision. After more than 20 years at Brunello Cucinelli, he moved to Prada to oversee the men’s ready-to-wear collections for one season.
Canali occupies a precise position in the market, offering construction quality and full-canvas tailoring that competes with Kiton and Zegna. A house that has always made its case through the product itself, Canali and its new Creative Director appear well matched in that regard.
Stefano Canali, CEO and President of the brand, said, “We are delighted to welcome Alessio. His experience, sensitivity, and deep knowledge of the menswear world will represent important assets for the future of the brand. He will work alongside our style and product teams to shape a renewed yet coherent vision of the Canali identity.”
“Joining Canali is a great honor for me. It is a brand that fully represents the excellence and sartorial mastery of Italian menswear, where product culture, quality, and attention to detail are tangible and everyday pillars. Here, all the elements are in place to build an authentic and coherent creative journey, capable of evolving while respecting the brand’s DNA,” Lillocci said.
His first full collection in the new role is set to debut for spring 2027, having already contributed to the brand’s fall 2026 lineup in the lead-up to his appointment. Canali closed 2024 with steady single-digit growth, with North America performing strongly enough to offset a slowdown in China. The appointment shifts the brand’s design focus from pure storytelling toward product solidity, a direction that its Italian menswear peers have also been moving toward. Zegna has been reinforcing its direct-to-consumer model, Brioni has been investing in craft education, and Brunello Cucinelli has continued to build on its philosophy of quiet luxury.
For Canali, bringing in a named Creative Director after a decade of in-house design work is an unexpected move, and one that places the brand in step with how other established Italian menswear houses have been structuring their creative leadership in recent years.
