Dries Van Noten has tapped Axel Keller, most recently chief executive officer of Jil Sander in Milan, as his new president.
The Belgian fashion company confirmed Keller’s appointment exclusively to WWD.
Keller joins Van Noten after a long career as a commercial director for top designer brands in France, most notably Balenciaga, where he was commercial director for 14 years, and at Maison Margiela, where he held that role for 13 years.
He had moved to Jil Sander in 2018 as commercial director and was promoted to CEO later that year.
At Dries Van Noten, Keller succeeds Matteo De Rosa, who had signed as president, a new role at the Antwerp-based house, in January 2020, only to exit less than a year into the job. De Rosa joined Dries Van Noten from Ports International Enterprises Ltd., where he was managing director of its Ports 1961 label.
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That hire represented the first big business development for Dries Van Noten since it was acquired by Puig, the Spanish beauty and fashion conglomerate, in June 2018.
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Van Noten remains a minority shareholder in the company, and carries the title of chief creative officer and chairman of the board.
In tandem with Keller’s appointment, Sabine Fandino Fineau has been named vice president, according to a Dries Van Noten spokesman. Fandino Fineau has worked at the company for 25 years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Prized for dignified, elegant designs tinged with lavish embellishments and intricate prints, Van Noten counts boutiques in cities including Antwerp, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Seoul, some with partners, while key retail clients include Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Le Bon Marché, Harrods, Lane Crawford, Harvey Nichols and Shinsegae.
A new boutique in Shenzhen, China, is slated to open soon.
One of the original Antwerp Six, Van Noten comes from a family of tailors and is a graduate of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
He launched his label with men’s wear in 1986, and established his flagship in his hometown in 1989, known as Het Modepaleis and located on the site of a historic department store.
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