It’s now official: director “De Mytho,” a genius of electrified sheet metal and king of retro-recycling, is taking the reins at Kering. After reviving 1950s Renaults by plugging them into an iPhone socket, he’s now tackling a new project: fashion and luxury. No less.

At Renault, he already wowed us by reinventing the Renault 5 as a poor man’s Tesla. Now, we’re wondering with a shudder: what will he be able to unearth from the haute couture closets? Perhaps a little black dress by T Ford?

But let’s be honest, an Italian at the head of an Italian group seems almost logical. “You France, me Italy,” he is said to have whispered in the ear of the lord of the Arnaults, in a hushed duel of tasseled loafers, all under the gilt of a board meeting scented with Hermès leather and a triptych of egos.

But beware, De Mytho isn’t here to be a figurehead. The guy has some muscle (hybrid, of course): he knows how to sell recycled dreams, pass off a hubcap as a couture accessory, and transform a spring/summer collection into a concept vehicle. So we’re waiting for him at every turn, and watch out for a slip-up, for a Dior x FIAT partnership: affordable chic, turbocharged. In any case, one thing is certain: at Kering, we’re no longer in fashion, we’re going emotional mileage.

FM