Carlo Pignatelli sells majority stake to holding company GD

A landmark moment for Italian bridal and occasionwear label Carlo Pignatelli, which has sold a majority stake to the GD holding company. Designer Carlo Pignatelli, 80, is taking a step back but will still retain a minority stake. Born in Apulia but based in Turin, Pignatelli will continue to be the creative force behind the label he founded in the 1960s, while handing over the helm to new CEO Alessandro Rossi.

The Turin-based label’s rejuvenation is the brainchild of local businessmen Francesco Gianfala and Riccardo Di Battista, who set up the GD holding company to acquire Carlo Pignatelli, which has been struggling in the pandemic’s aftermath.

Once generating revenue of €50 million with 70 employees, the label was hit hard by the Covid crisis, and its revenue plummeted to €12 million.

GD is aiming to relaunch Carlo Pignatelli in the bridal sector and especially the occasionwear segment, which is currently buoyant, deploying a strategy aimed at expanding internationally, primarily in Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Also on the cards, the setting up of an haute couture academy in Turin, through which the Pignatelli craftsmanship expertise can be handed over to a new generation of tailors.

Carlo Pignatelli is currently distributed via three monobrand stores and 150 multibrand retailers, and its future plans will be unveiled at a runway show scheduled in the Savoy royal palace at Venaria Reale, near Turin, on May 19.