Italian designer Alberta Ferretti stepping down as creative director of her brand

Italian designer Alberta Ferretti is stepping down as creative director of her eponymous brand after 43 years, fashion group Aeffe said on Tuesday.

The new creative director for the Alberta Ferretti brand will be announced in the next few months, the group said, adding that Ferretti will retain her role as vice president of Aeffe.

"I believe that at this point of my career it is a right and conscious choice to pave the way for a new creative chapter for the brand I founded and which will continue to bear my name," Ferretti said in a statement.

The spring summer collection that the brand presented last week during the Milan fashion week was the last one carrying her signature.

In the first half of the year, the Alberta Ferretti brand accounted for roughly 7% of total revenues of the group.

Aeffe, which also owns brands Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, Moschino and Pollini, is struggling to revive its sales and profitability.

The family-owned group posted a net loss of 20 million euros ($22.27 million) in the first six months of the year and its revenues were down 15% year-on year.

"Aeffe will proceed with a careful and in-depth analysis of the roles and functions of the various departments, with the aim of internally reorganizing its human resources in order to guarantee ever greater efficiency", the group added.