Karl Lagerfeld has forged a licensing pact for watches and fashion jewelry with Italy’s Morellato Group, effective with the fall 2024 season.
The new long-term agreement covers watch and jewelry collections for women and men, both categories of product embedded with the rock ‘n’ roll-tinged chic incarnated in the late founder.
Pier Paolo Righi, chief executive officer of Karl Lagerfeld, said the new partnership paved the way for expansion with new and existing consumers.
“We look forward to leveraging Morellato Group’s skilled expertise and robust distribution network together with Karl Lagerfeld’s signature sophistication and distinct aesthetic,” he said.
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Righi noted “statement accessories were an integral element in Karl’s own wardrobe,” giving the brand formidable legitimacy in the category.
Indeed, the late German designer favored black suits and white shirts he sparked with statement-making sunglasses, tie-pins, brooches and timepieces, sometimes wearing several watches at once.
“Like beautiful bracelets,” he once enthused to WWD. “I love watches as beautiful objects.”
Since repositioning in the affordable luxury category in 2011, the Karl Lagerfeld company previously had separate licensing agreements for the watch and jewelry categories with the likes of Fossil Inc. and Swarovski. (Its pact with New York-based The Jewelry Group continues and covers the U.S., Mexico, Canada and parts of Asia.)
Now product development and distribution for Karl Lagerfeld fashion jewelry across key markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South Korea will be led by Morellato Group, and it has worldwide territory for watches excluding the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Morellato operates 650 company-owned stores across Germany, France and Italy, and six e-commerce platforms in addition to its 7,000 wholesale accounts.
The biannual collections will also be sold in Karl Lagerfeld boutiques and distribution channels, including karl.com.
Massimo Carraro, president of Morellato Group, said Karl Lagerfeld’s “expression of timeless and aspirational luxury perfectly mirrors our group’s mission.”
Morellato’s other licensed brands are Maserati, Chiara Ferragni, Trussardi, Esprit, Jette and Guido Maria Kretschmer, while its owned brands include Morellato, Sector No Limits, Philip Watch, Lucien Rochat, Live Diamond, Oui&Me, La Petite Story, Chronostar and Favs, in addition to the retail brands Bluespirit, Christ, Brinckmann & Lange, Cleor, D’Amante and Noélie.
