FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOUNDER EXITS EIDOS TO LAUNCH NEW BRAND
NEW YORK, July 20, 2017 -- Antonio K. Ciongoli, co-founder and Creative Director of EIDOS, announced today that he is leaving Eidos after this season to launch a forthcoming brand.
Mr. Ciongoli has led EIDOS for four and a half years, since he pitched the brand concept to Isaia Napoli, the company’s majority shareholders. In that time, EIDOS has evolved from a small collection focused on classic tailoring to a global luxury wholesale brand that is sold in over 40 locations worldwide including Barney’s New York, Lane Crawford and Mr. Porter.
“Building Eidos has been a life-changing experience for me and I cannot thank Gianluca Isaia and Jim Shay enough for the opportunity to do so. While moving on from anything one cares about is difficult, I am optimistic about EIDOS’ potential and I look forward to watching its future evolution,” stated Mr. Ciongoli, noting that he will stay through the end of this season and retain his equity stake in the brand thereafter.
Regarding his new project, Mr. Ciongoli said, “In the last six years I have seen the retail landscape change dramatically. The value in today’s market is the opportunity to connect directly with the people to whom our product speaks and I’m interested in creating an immersive, content-driven platform that expands that dialogue.” Mr. Ciongoli noted that more information about his forthcoming brand will be made available weekly via his Instagram @akciongoli.
ABOUT ANTONIO K. CIONGOLI
Antonio K. Ciongoli is a creative director with over 10 years of international luxury sportswear design experience. Most recently he has led EIDOS, a unisex global lifestyle brand he conceptualized and co-founded with Isaia Napoli in January of 2013.
Ciongoli was born and raised in Burlington, Vermont, attended St. Stephen’s School in Rome, Italy and graduated from the Annenburg School of Communication at the University of Southern California in 2006. He began his career in fashion at Vineyard Vines, where he was hired to answer phones in their customer service center. Within 4 months, he was managing the design of all men’s and women’s accessories and children’s clothing. In 2008, Ciongoli joined Ralph Lauren as a knitwear designer for their Rugby brand and remained there until he was tapped by American menswear designer Michael Bastian to be his deputy creative director. During his tenure with Bastian, the label received wide critical acclaim, including two nominations and 1 win for the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) Menswear Designer of the Year (2011 and 2013) and GQ’s Best New Designer of the Year in 2011.
The EIDOS brand has been highlighted in many international fashion publications including WWD, GQ, Esquire, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. It is sold at over 40 luxury retail locations worldwide.