Josep Font steps down from Delpozo creative direction

By

Triana Alonso

Translated by
Erin Floyd

Published
Sep 24, 2018

Just one week after the Spanish luxury label’s last fashion show, in London, it has confirmed the departure of its head creative Josep Font, its creative director for the past six years. The announcement of his departure comes just a few hours after the beginning of Paris Fashion Week, set to begin with a highly anticipated show from Dior.

After the death of the brand’s creator, Jesús del Pozo, in 2011, the company Perfumes y Diseño, which had held the house’s perfume license since 1992, took over the label with the aim of relaunching it. A year later, Josep Font, a designer with a background in architecture, arrived at the creative direction of the iconic Spanish label established in 1974. During his career, the Catalan designer managed to make Delpozo into a prêt-à-couture brand, creating a recognisable silhouette of artisanally handcrafted volumes and proportions.

"Josep Font has been a key figure in the relaunch of Delpozo. Over the last six years, he has helped to revive and continue the legacy of Jesús. I am grateful for his loyalty and for having been part of the first chapter of Delpozo, "said Pedro Trolez, president of the firm and owner of the Perfumes y Diseño group. Font, who announced his departure on his Instagram page, said he was "proud of the achievements made with the team over the short period of six years."

Delpozo’s global reach has been linked to its star designer, by means of the brand’s appearance at fashion shows at the New York and London fashion weeks, having joined the latter two seasons ago. The brand has 80 points of sale worldwide, notably including three flagships located in Madrid, London and Dubai. Likewise, the firm has a presence on platforms such as Moda Operandi and MyTheresa and has recently signed agreements with the Chalhoub Group with the aim of expanding in the Middle East; as well as the KLH Group, which will allow it to grow in Korea through five shop-in-shops over the next two years. The growth strategy appears to signal a distancing of the brand from the North American market, which was the aim of Font and of the company for some time, also confirmed by the brand’s latest business deals and the transfer of the show to London, which could have been one of the reasons for the divergent interests of the company and its designer.

Delpozo denied rumours of a break with its designer when questioned by FashionNetwork.com in June. However, doubts nevertheless arose about the future of Font, who had already shown with his eponymous label at four seasons of Paris’ haute couture week, as well as about the designer’s plans for a perfume that has still failed to materialise.

Delpozo is the only fashion brand in the portfolio of the Perfumes y Diseño group, which is in charge of cosmetics and perfumes for Philippe Starck Parfums, Tous Perfumes and Desigual, amongst others. As of yet, the company has not announced a successor for Font, although it is likely to be a designer who will creatively secure the label’s expansion plans in Asia and the Middle East. The pursuit of the Delpozo identity, ingrained under the direction of the Catalan designer, remains up in the air. As for Font, he may emerge as the future creative director of an internationally renowned label. Returning to designing under his own name was not on his agenda. Or at least, it wasn’t, just a few months ago.