La Martina is staging a minor revolution. The polo-inspired sportswear brand was founded in 1985 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Lando Simonetti who, with customary foresight, has realised the time has come for the brand to evolve from both the managerial and design standpoints.

 
“In the last four months, we have restructured our management team, with three key figures on the front line: I have taken on the role of chief marketing & sales officer, we have a new head of the legal and administration department, and a new head of product development,” said Alessandro Milia, speaking to FashionNetwork.com at La Martina’s Milanese flagship store, during Milan Fashion Week. “But the main news is the arrival of Antonella Di Pietro as the first creative director in the brand’s history, alongside a new art director and a new designer.”
 
Di Pietro has a 20-year-plus experience in the sector, having worked with leading fashion and luxury names like Tod’s, Karl Lagerfeld, Tommy Hilfiger, Moncler, Ferragamo, Pucci, Givenchy and Kenzo. Her goal in the new role is to translate La Martina’s values and its strong link with the Argentine polo game into authentic and contemporary creations, both in terms of style and image.
 

“Before we began to collaborate, Lando took me to Argentina, so that I could immerse myself in its atmospheres and colours. It was an essential journey, and it enabled me to create with my team a range of looks that reflect La Martina’s values, while adding a fresh twist. In the last two months, we have focused on womenswear, but we’ve incorporated some new features in menswear too. We’ve developed sportswear items wearable in everyday life, with a strong contemporary feel and a fun touch, for example through their colours,” Di Pietro told FashionNetwork.com. “Image-wise, we’ve shot a new campaign that reaffirms the brand’s link with polo, and we’ve edited our in-store displays focusing no longer on functionality but on looks, offering matching suggestions to our customers,” she added.

La Martina’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection pays tribute to the brand’s timeless aesthetic, reinterpreting it with a contemporary twist that promotes individuality through creative layering, and an invitation to mix classic and contemporary pieces. The ready-to-wear range reinterprets classic elegance with innovative details, emphasising bold silhouettes and cutting-edge design solutions.
 

The collection includes high-quality suede items embellished with hand-stitched seams and tassels, in a nod to Argentinean craftsmanship. The combination of smooth leather with soft or rough fabrics creates textural contrasts and visual effects. Denim adds a casual counterpoint to the looks, lending versatility and modernity to the formal silhouettes of the Guards line. Wardrobe classics such as blazers and trousers are now featured with contemporary cuts that include dropped shoulders, cropped lengths, and destructured shapes. The colour palette is inspired by Argentina’s landscapes, with natural hues such as deep brown, warm beige and neutral shades, as well as powder pink accents. Milia said that the new collection has been very well received on the market: “We have struck new partnerships with European distribution agencies that will enable us to enter new countries, or return to others where we were no longer present.”
 
Retail-wise, Milia said that La Martina has a busy store-opening plan for the next few years. “In Central America, where we already have 10 stores, we’re planning about 10 store openings in 2025; in China, some 15 stores will be added within three years to the five already existing; while in EMEA, we are planning about 30 openings in three years, five of them in 2025. All the new stores will feature the new interiors concept we’re developing,” he said. “Two other very important markets for us are South America, where we have about 40 stores, and India, where we’re operating 14 monobrand stores and about 80 pop-up ones. To bolster our ambitious objectives, last November we also hired a new sales director.”