Italian luxury label Moschino’s new creative director, Davide Renne, died Friday aged 46, after less than two weeks in the role, the fashion house said.

The Tuscan-born designer, who had two decades of experience designing women’s collections at Gucci before moving to Moschino, died in Milan after “a sudden illness”, Moschino said in a statement.

Renne, who began overseeing women’s and men’s collections and accessories for Moschino on November 1, had been due to present his debut collection for the house at Milan Fashion Week in February.

“There are no words to describe the pain we are experiencing at this dramatic time,” said Massimo Ferretti, head of Moschino parent company Gruppo Aeffe.

“With Davide, we were working on an ambitious project, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and optimism for the future,” he said in a statement.

“Even though he was only with us for a very short time, Davide was able to immediately make himself loved and respected. Today we are left with the responsibility of carrying on what his imagination and creativity had only envisioned,” he added.

Renne was appointed in October to replace American designer Jeremy Scott, who stepped down earlier this year after a decade in the role.

ide/ams/yad

© Agence France-Presse