Achille Lauro Named Creative Director of Dondup Italian Fashion Brand

Italian fashion brand Dondup, famous for its jeans and smart casual wear, has appointed Achille Lauro as its new creative director, marking a new chapter for the label and a further sign of the increasingly fluid relationship between music, fashion and contemporary Italian culture.

Lauro, whose real name is Lauro De Marinis, is one of Italy’s most visually recognizable pop artists. Known for moving between hip hop, rock, glam-pop and theatrical performance, he has become a fixture of the Italian music scene through multiple appearances at the Sanremo Music Festival and represented San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022. For international readers, he is perhaps best understood not simply as a singer, but as a performer with a strong visual language, one who uses fashion, styling and stage imagery as part of his artistic identity.

With this appointment, Dondup is placing Lauro at the head of its creative direction, where he will help define the vision for the brand’s women’s and men’s collections, as well as accessories. FashionNetwork Italia reported that the appointment forms part of a broader new phase for Dondup, which also includes a new Milan showroom and a first fashion presentation linked to Lauro’s San Siro concert in Milan.

Rolling Stone once described Lauro as ‘”‘playful with clichés and irony, sexy, and in his own way rock ‘n' roll—by extension, but still rock ‘n' roll. ‘

Therefore, for Dondup, the choice is an interesting one. The brand, founded in the Marche region and long associated with premium denim, casual tailoring and contemporary Italian ease, now appears ready to sharpen its cultural profile. Lauro brings not only celebrity visibility, but also an instinct for image-making. His career has often played with identity, performance and elegance, themes that sit naturally within fashion when handled with discipline.

“I wanted to create something that would last. Not as a face, but as an author,” Lauro said in the announcement. “Not a gesture, but a project. The beginning of a creative journey that will influence Dondup’s image, collections and positioning, while preserving its DNA and strengthening its identity. Elegance is not an accessory, it is an attitude, and fashion must be able to tell its story.”

The first preview of the collaboration is expected on June 15, 2026, during the next Achille Lauro concert at Milan’s San Siro stadium, where he is set to present an initial capsule collection for Dondup. It is an unusual setting for a fashion debut, but one that feels aligned with Lauro’s own artistic universe, where music, costume, performance and visual storytelling are rarely separated.

Mauro Grange, CEO of Dondup, described the collaboration as a long-term creative project and praised Lauro’s artistic sensitivity and understanding of the brand’s heritage. According to the company, the aim is to open a new chapter for Dondup while maintaining its identity and strengthening its position in contemporary luxury.

The appointment also reflects a wider shift within fashion. Creative direction is no longer reserved only for designers trained inside traditional maisons. Increasingly, brands are turning to cultural figures who can shape not just clothes, but atmosphere, community and desire. In Lauro’s case, Dondup is betting on a figure who understands the power of transformation and image, two elements that have always belonged to both music and fashion.

For Milan, the timing is notable. A San Siro capsule presentation places the collaboration directly in the city’s cultural spotlight, outside the more expected calendar of showrooms and fashion week appointments. It suggests that Dondup is not only looking for a new style direction, but also a broader conversation with a public that follows fashion through music, social media and live experience as much as through the runway.