MILAN — “Hanro is rooted in its past but built for the future. We do not want to preserve our history as a museum piece, we want to bring the archive to life,” said Benjamin Isenheim, the newly installed chief executive officer of the 142-year-old Swiss innerwear brand.
Building on this declaration of intent, the executive, a former manager at German fashion company S.Oliver Group, is committed to walk the talk.
Cue the upcoming collaboration with Bethan Laura Wood, known for her whimsical and flamboyant design ethos and personal style, as well as for collaborations with Cassina, Cc-tapis, Baccarat and luxury fashion brands including Hermès, Valextra, Dior and Serapian.
Part of Hanro’s Atelier collection, the capsule draws inspiration from the London-based artist and designer’s travels to Japan, as the country’s signature woodwork, rope-weaving and shoji screen trickled down in the two custom patterns splashed across the collection pieces.
“During my travels through Japan, I became fascinated by the relationship between architecture, textiles and the way light transforms a space,” Wood said in a statement.
“I was particularly drawn to the intricate structures of traditional Japanese interiors, the beauty of woven materials and the delicate shadows created by shoji screens. For this collaboration, I wanted to translate those impressions into patterns and textiles that feel both expressive and intimate,” she said.
The capsule includes a lingerie set, a pajama set, cotton shorts, a silk nightwear set comprising a top and panties, as well as a kimono, a pocket square and a scarf. Pieces are mainly crafted from cotton, silk or viscose.
It will make its retail debut in the fall of 2027.
“Hanro has always responded to its time. Today we talk about communities, but the underlying idea of connecting people is not new. Collaborations bring different audiences together and introduce them to our heritage and distinctive strengths,” Isenheim said. “These outside perspectives help keep Hanro culturally relevant.
“We do not need to chase trends. We want to remain true to ourselves while opening Hanro to different cultural perspectives,” he added.
That approach also resonates with Hanro’s brand activations, including the most recent Soft Motion event held at Berlin’s Clärchens Ballhaus ballroom to mark the retail debut of the fall 2026 collection.
Isenheim joined the Swiss lingerie brand in July and has been in observation mode trying to distill its DNA and futureproof it.
“The priority is to strengthen our iconic products: to make our strengths even stronger. Cotton Seamless and Cotton Sensation are established signatures, and cotton is central to our identity. We also want to explore more versatile, hybrid pieces that work across daywear, loungewear, nightwear and even as outer layers,” he said.
To be sure, on the heels of a fashion month that — at least on the runway — qualified spring 2027 as the “bra season,” specialty players could be benefiting from lingerie’s growing role as a visible, ready-to-wear wardrobe component.
Starting in 2027 the brand plans to refresh its core offering adding more feminine details, including lace and embellishments, or tweak its key silhouettes. In 2028 reeditions of archival pieces will be integrated in the main collection, rather than just used for capsules and special drops, the executive said.
“Although we are [not] repositioning as a ready-to-wear brand, the aim is to increase the value and versatility of each garment: something comfortable enough for home and sleep, but equally wearable beyond the home,” the CEO said.
As the brand seeks to expand its reach, Isenheim said that there is space to further grow and consolidate leading markets, which include Switzerland, where the brand was founded in 1884, as well as the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
“Our international diversification also helps protect us from difficulties in any single market,” Isenheim explained, mentioning the Middle East, for example, a promising region currently feeling the pinch of the ongoing war.
“Hanro has loyal customers and an international footprint, which give us a strong foundation.…Cost pressure is real, but I would like us to move from a cost-led to a value-led [conversation on] pricing. The question is what value a product offers, not just what it costs to make….We must remain financially healthy, of course,” the executive shared.
The brand is largely wholesale-dependent with about 2,000 stockists globally, including 70 key accounts, but it also boasts a sizable retail network of 13 flagships in cities ranging from New York and Gstaad to Amsterdam, London and Rome. A boutique in Tokyo is to bow by the end of 2027, and more units could follow, for example in Germany, where the brand is actively looking at prospects.
While declining to provide revenue figures, the CEO said the company is targeting year-over-year growth in the double-digit range, especially through direct-to-consumer.
“In an ideal world, the channels would be balanced, but the market is more complex. We will continue supporting our longstanding wholesale partners. At the same time, direct-to-consumer — both online and offline — is our biggest growth opportunity,” Isenheim said.
“E-commerce needs greater brand awareness, supported by marketing and physical visibility,” he added, forecasting revenues from the channel to hit 20 percent of total sales in 2027, up from the current 15 percent.