OTB Group

Overview and History

OTB is chaired by the Italian entrepreneur Renzo Rosso who founded Diesel. After co-creating the Diesel brand in 1978, Renzo Rosso acquired complete control of the company in 1985. In 2000, he acquired Staff International which currently holds global production and distribution license agreements with brands like Maison Margiela, Marni Men, Dsquared2, Just Cavalli, Marc Jacobs Men, Vivienne Westwood Red Label and Man. In 2002, Renzo Rosso became the majority shareholder of Maison Margiela. In 2008 Viktor&Rolf joined the group, followed by Marni in 2012 and by Paula Cademartori in 2016. Brave Kid is the company of the group specialized in the development, production and distribution of childrenswear. Brave Kid holds worldwide production and distribution license agreements with Diesel, John Galliano, Dsquared²,Marni and Trussardi.

Key Milestones

Social Responsibility

Only The Brave Foundation is a not for profit organization with the mission to fight social inequality and to contribute to the sustainable development of less advantaged areas and people throughout the world. It invests 10% of its funds in Italy, and the remaining 90% primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. T t. So far, the Only The Brave Foundation has invested 11 million euro in over 170 projects, improving the life of more than 180,000 people, and ranging from the sustainable development of a 20,000 inhabitants village in Mali, to a microcredit project to support families and small business affected by the 2012 earthquake in Emilia Romagna, Italy.

In 2013, Staff International signed a deal with Ifitalia Group BNP Paribas, allowing its suppliers to access credit at favored conditions, thus supporting Italian producers.

Since Autumn-Winter 1994, a special T-shirt bearing the text THERE IS MORE ACTION TO BE DONE TO FIGHT AIDS THAN TO WEAR THIS T-SHIRT BUT IT’S A GOOD START has been present in all Maison Margiela collections. Further to this seasonal version, in 2010, the Maison decided to release a yearly edition in a different language for World AIDS Day on December 1. First came Japanese, followed by French and Chinese. A percentage of the sales of these T-shirts is donated to AIDES, a French charity dedicated to fighting the HIV virus and to looking after patients living with HIV and AIDS. More than 200,000 T-shirts have been sold to date, donating over €800,000 to charity.

In 2012 the Venice City Council announced that OTB will become the sponsor of the restoration of the Rialto Bridge with a contribution of 5 million euro.

Marni supports several responsible activities all over the world. For example, every year it develops a Christmas charity project, creating limited edition products whose sales proceeds go to schools and associations encouraging learning, creativity, and raising hope for a better future for children.

ITS

In 2000 Renzo Rosso and Barbara Franchin, founder of International Talent Support, devised a program to give fashion design students the chance to show their talent to a professional, audience of designers, buyers, headhunters, and international media. ITS is a creative platform to grant visibility and job opportunities to young talents in fashion, accessories and jewelry design. ITS is the result of a worldwide scouting effort in over 1,000 schools in more than 80 countries of the world, becoming a network of influencers passionate about young talent, including names such as Raf Simons, Viktor & Rolf, Gareth Pugh, Ennio Capasa, Antonio Marras, Sophia Kokosalaki, Marina Abramovic, Franca Sozzani, Cathy Horyn, Colin McDowell, Hilary Alexander, Cecilia Dean, Patti Wilson, Maria Luisa Poumaillou, etc. ITS is an important platform for OTB, the finalists of different editions are integrated in the style offices of many of the brands of the group, confirming the quality of its scouting process.

ANDAM

The ANDAM Award commonly known as ANDAM, is a fashion contest created by the Association Nationale pour le Développement des Arts de la Mode. ANDAM is supported by private and institutional players of the cultural industry, such us DEFI (Département de l'Enseignement du Français à l'International) and the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. In addition to economical award ANDAM opens for the finalists the doors of Official calendar of Paris Fashion Week. Renzo Rosso was the mentor of the 2013 ANDAM edition, the finalists, Alexandre Mattiussi and Christine Phung, received a cash prize as well as two seasons mentoring by Rosso.