MILAN — It takes a village to run a fashion company for years, let alone for decades.
The Jacob Cohën team knows that well. It went through many ups and downs since the business was established in 1985, but it’s stepping into a new phase in the year of its 40th anniversary — one where the brand’s owner Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle and chief executive officer Luca Roda feel more in control than ever.
In a joint interview with WWD, the executives said a new chapter opened after 2023, when the company took full control of JC Industry, the firm formerly managing its production and distribution, to bring those operations in-house.
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This week another big change will be revealed. The coed spring 2026 collection to be unveiled during Milan Men’s Fashion Week will be the first to be designed entirely by Tommasi Bardelle, who’s adding the role of creative director to her title, following the quiet exit of designer Matthew Adams Dolan after the release of the fall 2024 collection.
Tommasi Bardelle’s aim is to restore the women’s business to match the full-fledged lifestyle vision introduced by her husband Nicola Bardelle to relaunch the brand before dying in an accident in 2012.
In designing the collection, Tommasi Bardelli not only implemented new takes on the brand’s signature sartorial approach to jeans and popular five-pocket pants, but did so with a heightened focus on tops, jackets and outerwear crafted from luxury materials — from lightweight cashmere for knits and blends of cashmere and silk for blazer jackets to napa leather and deer skin for outerwear — with the goal of offering total looks.
“The idea was to come up with pieces you can wear from day to night, both for men and women,” said Tommasi Bardelle. “I focused on what I really like. Especially the women’s collection reflects my own style a lot, so expect jackets with structured shoulders, but not oversize, and a contemporary take on femininity.”
“In the last few years we worked on enhancing the women’s offering because we’ve been always very strong on men’s,” said Tommasi Bardelle. “For me [this collection] is a great achievement. No one really managed to interpret what I had in mind or Nicola’s vision,” she continued. She believes there’s a huge gap in the market in which the Jacob Cohën women’s range can prosper with its high-end fabrications offered at a premium positioning but still at a more competitive price point versus other luxury fashion brands.
The spring 2026 collection will be unveiled with a presentation and party event staged at the Tortona district here on Saturday. For the occasion, the brand will set up the Jacob Cohën Village, a ‘60s- and ‘70s-inspired, denim-clad village with 11 stations — from a bar to live chocolate-making sessions — aimed at entertaining and engaging guests. Flanking the main collection, nine special looks with an artisanal touch will be showcased as well, including a hand-painted one developed in collaboration with an Italian artist, teased Tommasi Bardelle.
The Jacob Cohën brand was trademarked in 1985, but had been dormant until Nicola Bardelle thought to dust it off as an exclusive line, with sartorial jeans available in leading boutiques, and the label was relaunched in 2002. Denim already ran in the Bardelle blood since Nicola’s father, Tato Bardelle, dressed numerous young teenagers here with his hip Americanino and Outsider jeans in the ’80s.
Since the revamp, the Jacob Cohën brand has stood out for its use of high-end fabrics, often the same employed for sartorial suits, handmade tailored pants, silver buttons and rivets and ponyskin labels. Innovative highlights included the brand’s first jeans made using a cashmere and denim blend.
“He had the genius idea of making denim a luxury item,” said Tommasi Bardelle of her late husband. The company soft-pedaled forward after Bardelle’s sudden death, and in 2020 inked a partnership with Italian fashion manufacturer Sinv to create JC Industry.
Since bringing the production and distribution processes in-house two years ago, Roda was tasked with taking drastic steps impacting especially the brand’s wholesale footprint, streamlining its network to the current 900 doors from 1,400 in 2021.
“It proved to be the winning move as we wanted to further elevate our product with an even higher perception,” said Roda. New corners are expected to be added to the 45 existing ones at department stores including Harrods, Le Bon Marché, Printemps, KaDeWe, Isetan, El Corte Inglés and Harvey Nichols Dubai, to name a few.
Likewise for the brand’s retail network. Jacob Cohën has 20 stores — six directly operated and 14 under franchising format — in locations such as Milan, Rome, Paris, Saint-Tropez, Courchevel, Geneve, Puerto Banus, Prague, Oslo, Moscow, Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe, among others.
Most recently, the company added outposts in Forte dei Marmi, Antwerp and Knokke, in Belgium, while in September it will unveil a unit in Nice. A first unit will open in the U.S. by the end of the year, but Roda was mum on the details.
“The U.S. is the first market for sales generated on our e-commerce, so we see a lot of potential there,” he said. Overall, Europe is the best-performing market for the brand, which particularly resonates well in the Benelux area, Scandinavia and Russia.
Roda projected single-digit sales growth for 2025 up from 80 million euros last year with a goal to reach the 100 million euro mark by 2029.
Product expansion could help drive the increase. In addition to men’s, women’s and junior ready-to-wear and a home line of fragrances and diffusers, the brand has previously partnered with furniture specialists on specific denim-clad design pieces showcased during Milan Design Week.
The company has recently embarked the development of a line of shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body cream, as well as spray for denim pieces. These come in natural formulations based on hemp and featuring the Jacob Cohën signature scent blending notes of patchouli and sandalwood that is traditionally hand-sprayed on all the brand’s garments.
To be launched in September, the range will be initially distributed at Jacob Cohën’s stores, but Roda is eyeing partnerships with luxury hotels for the near future.