MILAN — When Veronica Etro stepped out of the limelight, leaving her role as creative director of Etro in 2022, a comeback to fashion wasn’t entirely off the table.
However, the designer needed some time off, if not entirely detached, from the whirlwind of handling a fashion megabrand. She stayed on at Etro for another three years supporting the archival team, until her family’s minority stake in the company was sold in 2025 to the Turkish Rams Global; Mathias Facchini, who helms Swinger International and is the owner of the Genny brand, and SRI Group. L Catterton remained the majority shareholder after acquiring its stake in July 2021.
The time spent delving into archival designs before waving goodbye to the company offered Etro a chance to retrace the brand’s history and, most importantly, in her own words, to “see how many beautiful things were created — things we’d forgotten in the rush to think about the future.”
Etro’s appetite for fashion creation had returned, but she wanted to pursue it on her own terms and at a slower pace.
On Thursday, she will unveil a new fashion brand called Off the Menu, which will be tightly edited collections of special pieces, conceived almost as collectibles.
“Today’s launch is an evolution of what came before,” Etro said, speaking from a loft space in Milan’s Chinatown where the brand is headquartered.
Incidentally, it’s the same space she first rented and settled in when she returned from London at age 23 to work for the family brand.
The loft, recently revamped, is now filled with antiquities, chinoiserie, contemporary art and photography – part showroom and part apartment, complete with a tatami room.
“Etro [the brand] was home to me, and I needed time away. I had to process the loss. As time went on, the grief gave way to a desire to return to the creative process,” Etro said.
“I had this project in mind since 2022, and I’d already started researching, traveling and thinking about names.…Once I had more time, I started walking around the city and I came across Etro pieces here and there [worn by people]. They spoke to me because each one had its own story, each one was like a child,” she said.
A look from the Off the Menu fall 2027 collection.
Courtesy of Off the Menu
The name Off the Menu references the creative appetizers served at fine dining spots, made with unusual ingredients and unexpected juxtapositions of flavors. They reflect her instinctive approach to her new fashion brand, Etro explained.
Off the Menu was launched with co-investor Cieffe Milano, which also holds the manufacturing license.
“This is a brand that comes from the gut, without a merchandising plan. It came together by putting ideas and feelings to work. I’ve always followed my instincts to some extent,” Etro said.
“I wanted to create special pieces to wear, rather than selling customers a total look. What I’ve always loved is seeing my clients mix things together and express their own personalities. I don’t set the rules, I let my pieces enrich the identity of the person who buys them. Individuality wins over the logo,” she contended.
Etro plans to drop two collections a year, timed with the pre-collection market in June and November.
The first lineup for fall 2027 includes 35 pieces built on a few key codes that unmistakably belong to the designer’s fashion vocabulary.
“All pieces are outside the trends. I want them to be timeless, but also ageless. I want to make clothes for the street, starting with simple silhouettes. Making the ordinary extraordinary,” Etro said.
Her penchant for maximalism is tempered by approachable, easy-to-wear silhouettes, as in a fluid, pleated crepe de chine printed dress with a solid knit bib.
Eclectic references surface in embroideries, jacquards and prints, from tapestry-like textures and intricate Kashmiri motifs to mandala patterns, butterflies and 18th-century florals. Fringes, passementerie trims and hand-enameled glass buttons add further decorative richness.
Knitwear is a key category, spanning grandpa-chic cardigans with jacquard florals, shrunken styles trimmed with ribbons, chunky crewneck sweaters with mandala embroidery and belted cardigans finished with jewel-like studs.
A vest from the Off the Menu fall 2027 collection.
Courtesy of Off the Menu
Each piece is designed for layering: quilted jackets with embroidered trims and printed crepe de chine linings can be worn over dresses in subtly different tonal prints, while bohemian frocks with butterfly motifs and ruffled hems are made to be worn under knit tops.
Off the Menu’s distribution is to be handled in-house for Europe and will rely on a partner, CD Network, for the U.S. and Canada. Pieces retail between 350 euros and 2,000 euros and will hit stores in July next year.
The manifesto accompanying the brand launch describes Off the Menu as “not for everyone. Because what is truly desirable is never fully accessible.”
Etro elaborated during the interview: “By ‘inaccessible,’ I mean more personal….These pieces are not for everyone in the sense that they are special,” she said.
“After working within the system for so long, I now want to turn around and look at things from a different point of view. I won’t sell online. I’ll run the sales campaign from here and have direct contact with clients. Even look book images frame these as collectible pieces, rather than individual clothing items,” she added.
The imagery places the pieces alongside objects from Etro’s personal collection — chairs, cushions, rugs, vases and sculptures — in a juxtaposition of fashion and design that, she said, speaks to the art of collecting.
As an independent project, “the fun part of having freedom is being able to try new and different things,” Etro said.