MILAN — Don’t call mermaid-core over yet.

It looks like the trend, which saw a resurgence over the summer, is set to keep going on the runways this fashion month — at least at the Vivetta show to be staged on Wednesday here.

But for the Italian niche brand, glimmering attire nodding to the underwater world, marine-inspired colors and accessories shaped as aquatic creatures will express more than a mere seasonal inspiration. The mermaid theme will symbolically evoke the transformation of the label, which is opening a new chapter with the spring 2026 show. 

As reported, founding designer Vivetta Ponti exited the company in June, making the fall 2025 line her last at the brand she established in 2008. A resort 2026 collection created by the in-house design studio was quietly introduced at the time of the announcement, but the upcoming runway event will mark the official debut of its new vision.

This is spearheaded by chief executive officer Nicoletta Raponi — who joined the company in 2018 and was promoted to the current role in 2022 — and owner Modamet, the holding of the Arezzo, Italy-based Anselmi family that took a 58 percent stake in the brand in 2022 and also controls the Chimera Gold metal accessories and jewelry manufacturer.

In an interview with WWD, Raponi expressed the intention to keep creativity in the hands of the in-house design team for now, as she sees the founder-to-studio shift as an opportunity to strengthen the brand’s codes rather than diluting them. 

“Vivetta [Ponti] has been the founder and creative base of the project but it’s also true that behind the brand there’s always been a team of people. Companies are never made of a single person but of a combination and synergy of different minds,” Raponi said. 

Hence the executive is in no rush to find a successor to Ponti, she said. “We all strongly believe in this project and don’t see [not having a creative director] as a bad thing….We’re working with an internal creative team and potentiating it with international talents. The brand’s soul is still there and we have no intention not to be coherent with the Vivetta DNA, but we’re looking to integrate an international vision into the style department,” Raponi said.

“Also because we don’t want to be in the situation of other brands right now. Look at the crazy turnover in both managers and creative directors: I don’t consider that as a positive thing for a company. Sometimes I wonder if it’s all just a communication stunt, because coherence is eventually what marks the success of a project,” she argued.

If Raponi was to tap a lead designer for the post, though, she said she would zero in on a “sensitive, simple and humble person, who has an [inclination] for surrealism, love for nature and a contemporary vision,” since she sees these as key elements of Vivetta’s whimsical ethos. 

For the moment the design studio has been tasked with amplifying the poetic codes of the brand, relying on its staples such as trompe-l’œil and the hands motifs that have defined Ponti’s signature shirt collars and accessories over the years.

For spring 2026, these elements will be integrated into the aquatic inspiration, which will be expressed via lace embellishments featuring crabs and mermaids, inlaid on poplin and nylon organza; cotton canvas embroidered with seahorses and coral in gold thread; beaded appliqués shaped as sea anemones popping on both smooth and textured duchess pieces; terrycloth treated with sequined pinstripes for a gleaming, wet-like effect, and mother-of-pearl buttons and fish and mermaid tails making for precious details.

Volumes and textures will span from the egg and balloon shapes of cocktail dresses and pirate pants and the puffed sleeves of shirts and crop tops to the closer-to-the-body fit of jersey separates. A reinterpretation of mariniere stripes, sequined nets and the color palette filled with shades of blue, sandy hues and white will reinforce the theme. 

Ditto for the accessories, ranging from bejeweled heels inspired by sea urchins to golden fish-shaped belts and clutches, from opulent jewelry and seahorse or crab-shaped brooches to hair pins and dazzling headbands.

While accessories will speak of the parent company’s expertise in the field and make for an approachable entry to the Vivetta world for new customers, overall the spring 2026 collection promises to offer a first glimpse of the shift from girly toward a more mature woman Raponi has in mind, and that will go hand-in-hand with a tweak in the brand’s positioning.

“Vivetta started in the contemporary segment, in a time there were different brands popping up in that cluster,” Raponi said. “Throughout the years it has evolved, both in terms of style and quality, and today we see it more in the advanced contemporary category.”

The executive said she wants “to intercept all those customers who used to buy luxury and that now are not” by offering a Made in Italy product and “giving something special at the right price.” Her strategy relies on boosting the brand awareness and strengthening Vivetta’s ties with international retailers.

Without disclosing sales figures, Raponi said the U.S. and Europe are the brand’s top markets at the moment. Distribution in such areas account for 35 percent and 30 percent out of Vivetta’s total stockists, respectively, with the brand available at the likes of KaDeWe, Sugar, Revolve, H.Lorenzo and Tootsies, to cite a few. Other international retailers include I.T, Boontheshop and Bluebell in Asia and Harvey Nichols in the Middle East. 

“We were very strong in China before COVID-19, it was our first market but then it slowed down,” Raponi said. “Now we’re looking to grow even more in the U.S., since the brand resonates well there, but also expand in Asia, which means not only China but South Korea and Japan, too, as well as in the Middle East.”

Once the wholesale distribution is consolidated, Raponi said the goal is to open the brand’s first retail store in Milan, where the company is also eyeing to set up a headquarters. 

In the meantime, the company is working on revamping its e-commerce, as well as plotting to install corners at partner multibrand stores “to test the market and understand which are the right products” to showcase.

On the assortment front, next steps might include collaborations “on categories we’re not that strong in” to attract a new audience and artistic tie-ups matching Vivetta’s surrealist predisposition.

At the moment, the breadth of its codes is exemplified by a kidswear range, which is the result of a multiyear licensing agreement with Nanán that launched with the spring 2025 collection. 

This is the only licensing deal still in effect. As reported, Vivetta was originally produced by Camac but in 2018 the brand signed a licensing agreement with Gilmar Group for the production and distribution of its ready-to-wear collections, and the following year it introduced footwear via a licensing deal with Be71. Both the Gilmar Group and Be71 deals ended and now all the production is handled in-house. 

“It was like setting a company from scratch because the new ownership has many employees but never did apparel before, so big investments were made also in terms of new hires and team expansion,” Raponi said.

“The good thing is that the brand itself is not new: it has its own strong character. It’s niche but we don’t aim to become a label for everyone,” Raponi said.