Today, the Italian house Moschino announced that Adrian Appiolaza had been chosen as its new creative director. Though a source of good news, the appointment is bittersweet: Moschino’s last creative director Davide Renne died unexpectedly last November before his first collection could be shown, chosen to fill the role after Jeremy Scott’s shock exit in March of the same year.

But fast forward to now, and the brand has cause for celebration. “We are happy and honoured to welcome Adrian to the Aeffe family,” reads a statement from Massimo Ferretti, Chairman of Moschino owner Aeffe Group. “With his arrival at Moschino, Adrian brings with him a unique wealth of experience, creativity and knowledge of the history of fashion that will be instrumental to write a wonderful new chapter in the adventure of the brand founded by Franco Moschino.”

Below, we run down everything we know about Appiolaza, from his bursting fashion archive to the credentials that make him the best man for the job.

HE LEFT HIS NATIVE ARGENTINA FOR ENGLAND

The designer was born in Argentina in 1972 and raised in Buenos Aires. His grandmother owned a tailoring business and a teenage Appiolaza spent a lot of his time in the shop, surrounded by tools of the trade he would one day move into. But it was actually his love of music that pushed him to make the jump over the Atlantic, rather than his affinity with fashion. “What guided me on a journey of discovery, taking me away from those familiar confines and into the centre of my life, was the passion for English music,” Appiolaza said of his move to the UK in his early twenties. “During the years when the music scene in Manchester was thriving, it pushed me to imagine another universe, seemingly distant, where I could express myself like never before.”

HE’S GOT A STERLING REP AND A STACKED CV

In fashion, Appiolaza is a bit of an industry darling, and has the CV to back it up, having worked with some of the biggest names in the business. When he made the move to London in the early 90s he then enrolled at Central Saint Martins to study fashion design with print, and this led to a junior design position for Alexander McQueen and Miguel Adrover. But it was Phoebe Philo noticing his graduate collection in 2002 that the designer credits with changing the course of his career. After seeing the collection and what Appiolaza was capable of, Philo invited him to join her at Chloé soon afterwards.

From here, the designer worked under Miuccia Prada at Miu Miu from 2006, then headed to Louis Vuitton as senior designer for Marc Jacobs in 2010. A quick return to Chloé as Clare Waight Keller’s design director in 2012 saw him then move to Loewe in 2014, working closely with Jonathan Anderson on iconic looks such as the brands SS23 Anthurium collection and Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour wardrobe. Before his appointment at Moschino, Appiolaza had been Loewe’s ready-to-wear design director for a decade.

HE’S A LONGTIME FASHION COLLECTOR

In the statement announcing Appiolaza’s creative directorship, Ferretti said of the new Moschino boss, “He is not just a designer, but also a passionate collector, which is something making him very respectful of the heritage of brands.” If you take one look at Appiolaza’s Instagram, you can see exactly what Ferretti is talking about. The designer’s own personal collection contains rare pieces from Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Martin Margiela and Comme des Garçons to name just a few.

HE’S GOT REVERENCE FOR THE HISTORY OF MOSCHINO

Besides this list of names, another revered designer in Appiolaza’s archive is Franco Moschino himself, and the creative director outlined his appreciation in a statement. “The jackets with 3-D postcards, the dress with a skirt made with twenty bras, the countless trompe-l’oeil: as a creative and a collector, the list of creations by Franco Moschino that have entered the history of fashion is almost endless… I have always admired [his] sharp wit and irony: his creations were not just clothes, but a commentary on the status quo of his times, crafted from fabric.” Appiolaza then closed the statement on a confident note, promising to herald a near era of the Italian house. “I am ready to transport the Maison into a new chapter,” he said, “with a theatrical touch, in the pure style of Moschino.”