If the name Aitor Throup doesn’t ring a bell, then it’s about time to get with the program. The 36-year-old multi-talented British designer has recently been announced as G-Star RAW’s executive creative director.

While the role may be a newly devised one by the Dutch denim brand, Aitor will take on the responsibilities of the company’s former head designer, Pierre Morisset, who will remain as a consultant and mentor for their design team. “For me the most exciting thing is that there’s never been this role at the company, so there’s a lot of incredible people doing incredible things in each department, but to have the opportunity to help align all of those and bring a sort of perspective, to help all of them be as strong as possible by having the same variation, it’s very exciting,” stated the young ECD to WWD.

Throup is well-versed with G-Star's ethos having served as a creative consultant to the brand for three years, working on several projects such as the development and concept of their Oxford Street flagship and designing the G-Star RAW Research capsule in 2014. Throup's first full collection for the company launched during Paris Fashion week this past June.

Born in Argentina, Aitor and his family migrated to Spain and later moved to Burnley, Lancashire in 1992. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University and in 2006 obtained his Masters in Menswear at London’s Royal College of Art. Wasting no time, Throup officially opened his East London studio later that year. In 2007, he created the multi-disciplinary design house entitled A.T. Studio, which birthed his avant-garde menswear label New Object Research. Its first collection, 'The Funeral of New Orleans (Part One)', showcased at London Fashion Week the same year. Both the studio and the brand are dedicated to crafting new methods of telling stories through object design and the creation and production of related materials.

In 2008, Throup collaborated with high-end Italian sportswear company Stone Island to conjure up the Modular Anatomy project. The project went against the customary patterns of garment construction as they created a series of down jackets sewn together with an untraditional method that eliminated stitching bulk. The following season, Aitor and Carlo Rivetti's brand teamed up once more, this time creating the Articulated Anatomy project, focusing on making outerwear pieces that mirrored the movement of the body itself.

Anatomy and movement play a huge role in Throup’s aesthetics, an interest initially sparked as a child when his mother attended school to become a doctor. With medical books around the house, Throup was naturally drawn to them as a young boy.

Throup has since collaborated with a variety of brands, including English sportswear and football equipment supplier Umbro and C.P. Company. In 2011, he creatively directed numerous projects for the British rock band Kasabian.

Like Raf Simons and his namesake label, Throup will continue to work on his own line while in Amsterdam overseeing both men’s and women’s special projects that will further G-Star RAW's goal of driving denim innovation.

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