Castor Fashion and Tec Take Over HIM Co RTW, Manufacturer of Rochas, Monique Lhuillier

MILAN — A new Italian fashion prototyping and manufacturing company has been born.

Castor Fashion and Tec, two specialists in the sector, have joined forces to take over the HIM Co RTW manufacturing and distribution company, establishing a new firm named Modartis.

HIM Co RTW is part of HIM Co SpA, or High Italian Manufacturing, which was formerly known as the Onward Luxury Group. Until the end of 2020, this was the European subsidiary of Tokyo-based apparel giant Onward Holdings Co. Ltd.

Castor Fashion and Tec have only taken over the ready-to-wear business of the company, which also produces footwear for the likes of Amina Muaddi, Jacquemus, Phoebe Philo, J.W. Anderson, Coperni and Courrèges, among others.

As result of the deal, Modartis is picking up the existing agreements for apparel between HIM Co and Los Angeles-based designer Monique Lhuillier, French fashion house Rochas and Israeli designer and 2019 LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize winner Hed Mayner.

Financial details of the operation were not disclosed, but the agreement sees Castor Fashion controlling 70 percent of Modartis and the remaining part assigned to Tec, which is owned by Roberto Zanetto.

Zanetto has been named president and chief executive officer of Modartis. And Castor Fashion’s founder Angela Picozzi and its chief operating officer Fabrizio Ruozzi both sit on the board, taking responsibilities for product development and production, respectively.

Based in Curno, an hour’s drive from Milan, Modartis boasts an integrated business for prototyping, production, logistics, licensing and marketing of women’s, men’s, demi-couture, knitwear and leather goods. Menswear in particular is an integral part of the company, strategically complementing the high-end womenswear expertise of Castor Fashion and Tec.

The company aims to carry on the know-how of HIM Co RTW, built on the experience of Gibò, a firm that was founded by Carlo Zuccoli in 1960 and became a leader in the production of ready-to-wear, knitwear and leather goods for brands such as Giorgio Armani, Moschino and Jean Paul Gaultier in the ‘70s and ’80s.

In 1990, the original company entered the orbit of Japan’s Onward Holding Ltd and, over time, it signed licenses with the likes of Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Viktor & Rolf, Helmut Lang, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. In 2005, it joined forces with the Iris footwear specialist to form Onward Luxury Group. This was renamed High Italian Manufacturing in 2021.

“Castor, Tec and HIM Co RTW share the values of the best Italian manufacturing and the ability to manage effectively complex supply chain platforms. With this new structure, we define a medium- to long-term business vision for Modartis,” said Zanetto.

“Despite the significant contribution of technology to the sector, fashion remains a people business, where it is people’s experience that makes the difference. In the friendly transition from HIM Co to Modartis, the company’s know-how was confirmed, and the staff immediately grasped the potential of the new course,” echoed Picozzi.

Picozzi founded Castor Fashion in 2003, drawing on her family’s extensive expertise in pattern making. Since the ‘80s, her family business has set a benchmark in the sector, thanks to her father Mario — an impeccable tailor trained in the Neapolitan school — and mother Graziella, a pattern maker and visionary talent scout, who supported the then-unknown Martin Margiela in the late ‘80s, among many others.

Castor Fashion still produces collections of several luxury labels — including Elie Saab, Longchamp, Gabriela Hearst and Altuzarra — in addition to operating its Mantù in-house brand. In 2019, IFG (Italian Fashion Group) acquired 80 percent of the company to accelerate its growth, as reported.

Zanetto has been a leading figure in the fashion industry as well, as he served as CEO of Jil Sander SpA alongside the famed German designer before moving on to Vestimenta SpA, where he managed the production licenses for Giorgio Armani, Ungaro and Calvin Klein until 2005.

He founded Tec in Milan that same year, focusing on creating collections for the mid-to-high-end women’s segment, including demi-couture and designers’ wedding wear, for brands such as Giambattista Valli, Giada and Curiel, to name a few.