MILAN — La Perla Atelier has a new chief executive officer.
Effective Sept. 1, Alessio Vannetti is joining the Italian luxury innerwear brand, which is returning to the international scene under American industrial entrepreneur Peter Kern and his wife Kristen.
“We first met Alessio earlier this year, and from those early conversations it became clear that his understanding of what La Perla is — and what it is capable of becoming — was both precise and expansive,” Kristen and Peter Kern, principal shareholders of La Perla Atelier, said in a joint statement. “Our ambition is to see La Perla reclaim its position at the pinnacle of the lingerie category, and as an important and unique presence in luxury at large. Alessio has spent his career at some of the most important Italian brands focused on the intersection of craftsmanship, brand equity and commercial performance, and that is exactly the leadership this next phase requires.”
The couple thanked former CEO Paolo Vannucchi “for his commitment during the acquisition process and since the reopening of our atelier. He has played a key role in restoring operational continuity following the acquisition, and we are grateful for his contribution during this important phase.”
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Vannucchi, who served as CEO since the reopening of the Bologna atelier last December, will take on a strategic advisory role to ensure an orderly transition through the end of the current financial year.
Vannetti has developed his career for more than 27 years at some of the most prestigious fashion brands.
As worldwide communications director from 2015 to 2019 at Gucci, he was part of the team that led the brand’s textbook turnaround with then- president and CEO Marco Bizzarri and then-creative director Alessandro Michele. He left in 2020 to join Valentino as executive vice president, chief brand officer and member of the executive committee, working with then-creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, exiting three years later to return to Gucci in the same role, serving until the end of 2024.
Prior to that, Vannetti served as a brand builder in various roles at Prada and Zegna.
Most recently, he served as strategic adviser to Etnia Eyewear Culture, a Barcelona-based eyewear brand, and to Allemandi/Intesa Sanpaolo, where he contributed to redesigning the editorial and commercial model of Il Giornale dell’Arte, Italy’s leading art publication.
The Kerns concluded by saying that “with Alessio leading the business, together with the exceptional teams in Bologna and across the company, we are confident in the future of La Perla and in the next chapter we are building together.”
Last year, through the Luxury Holdings LLC, Kristen and Peter Kern, previously CEO of Expedia, acquired La Perla, which had been declared insolvent after changing hands for years. The founding Masotti family first sold it to JH Partners in 2007 then Silvio Scaglia bought it in 2013, and finally it was sold in 2018 to Tennor, then called Sapinda.
“La Perla is a unicum; a unique brand carrying genuine, irreplaceable equity, rooted in a factory, a craft and a cultural authority that cannot be manufactured from scratch,” Vannetti said. “From September, my focus will be on converting that heritage into consistent, contemporary performance.”
Kern rehired La Perla’s 220 seamstresses with the goal to keep manufacturing the brand in Italy, mainly in the Bologna headquarters. Earlier this year, Harrods hosted the first La Perla Atelier event format, a private, one-to-one invitation-only experience inside the store’s lingerie VIP lounge and with artisans coming from Bologna to offer their expertise for a perfect fit.
La Perla was established in Bologna in 1954 by Ada Masotti.
