Creative Director Nicola Brognano arrived at Blumarine in 2019, prepared to invigorate the beloved 90s brand that had lost its luster. Brognano’s fashion lust is reserved for the 00s, a time when the Italian designer was obsessed with Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and the era of ‘Mean Girls’.

AOC’s reference is important because in the words of the designer to a Vogue reviewer: “My Blumarine is more dirty, bitchy, sexier.”

“I was obsessed with them when I was younger (in Southern Italy),” he explains about Spears, Lohan and Hilton. “Even growing up and thinking about becoming a fashion designer, I have always wanted to make women feel as sexy and powerful as they were.”

When he first arrived at Blumarine, Brognano brought back from the dead Blumarine’s butterfly top. [Did you know that Google also brought back Feedburner from the dead, and AOC is running our RSS feed on it?]. The designer told Dazed that Versace has its Medusa and Blumarine has its butterfly.

By every measure, Brognano’s Blumarine rehab is working out just fine, with pop culture powerhouses like Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Rihanna signing on as clients.

Stylist and collaborator Lotta Volkova is always described has having a “sharp and Knowing eye for the cheeky and surreal”, according to Vogue’s Liana Satenstein. That pov about Volkova is universal.

Photographer Harley Weir IG] joined the Blumarine Spring 2022 fashion passion party in Milan, shooting these atmospheric images for Numéro Berlin.