Tissa Fontaneda: New CEO’s Growth Agenda In Tough Luxury Market

Tissa Fontaneda's flagship store in Belgravia, London. Tissa FontanedaWhen a self‑reliant luxury brand like Tissa Fontaneda brings in outside capital—and hands operational control to the investor—it signals just how challenging the environment has become for independent fashion houses. But could it ultimately strengthen the brand?Founder and creative director Tissa Fontaneda just announced her company’s first ever “external capital raise” just as the brand is set to celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2026.Entrepreneur Daniel Codes Llamas has joined the company as CEO, with the promise of a multi-stage financial injection designed to accelerate the company’s international expansion, digital development, and positioning in key luxury markets including North America, Japan, the Middle East, and the DACH (Germany + Austria + Switzerland) region.Codes Llamas, from Argentina but based in Madrid, also takes control of the company and is likely to implement his own ideas for growth. While not from the fashion sector, Codes Llamas has built a portfolio of businesses across law (Iberbrit), economics, real estate, and hospitality (El Enemigo in Madrid)—experience he believes will translate into operational discipline and scalable international growth.Through financial restructuring and clearly defined management, Fontaneda is hopeful the new CEO will turn her fashion house into a high-value, globally positioned luxury brand. In a reassuring statement, Codes Llamas said: “This new stage doesn’t change the soul of Tissa Fontaneda. The combination of Tissa’s artistic sensitivity and a modern management approach will allow us to bring the brand and its products to new audiences while keeping authenticity intact.”MORE FOR YOUTissa Fontaneda: “There will be no compromise on quality, that is something we both agree on—maintaining brand integrity is critical to our future success,”Tissa FontanedaFamous for its distinctive—and expensive to produce—‘bubble’ bags, made from the finest Entrefino lambskin, Tissa Fontaneda had been on a retail expansion drive since opening its first boutique in Marylebone, London. Ambitions to be fully owner-operated led to a move to Motcomb Street in well-heeled Belgravia, a stone’s throw from Europe’s most famous luxury department store, Harrods. The brand is also sold through a wholesale network spanning 19 countries and, last year, opened a second boutique in Madrid, a natural next step given that the Spanish capital is where Fontaneda found the skilled craftsmen to make her niche bubble nappa leather bags. The production process is costly, but necessary, as the look is a signature, and intrinsic to the brand.Market conditions dictate actionsPressures are industry-wide. Luxury giants like Louis Vuitton and Dior owner LVMH and Gucci parent Kering, suffered considerably last year. Independents—without diversified portfolios, vertical integration, or deep cash reserves—have been hit hardest, although there are tentative signs conditions might have troughed. According to international tax and advisory firm Forvis Mazars, 106 UK fashion manufacturers became insolvent in the year to July 2024 (up from 86 year-over-year) largely due to rising supply chain costs and reduced spending by consumers. Partner at the firm, Rebecca Dacre, said: “Premium brands are feeling the pressure to drop their prices to entice new customers, but this is harming their brand perception.” The just-published annual Business of Fashion/McKinsey State of Fashion 2026 report says that ‘challenging’ has overtaken ‘uncertainty’ as the word most frequently used to describe the industry in 2026 “with tariffs cited as the number one hurdle.” Pessimism also rules, with almost half (46%) of executives expecting conditions to worsen in 2026, compared with 39% in last year’s survey. By geography, 36% view North America as ‘unpromising’ or ‘very unpromising’, double last year’s share.Given the environment, Munich-born Fontaneda said that banks had been reluctant to lend to independents like hers that sell handbags for up to €2,200 ($2,600). As part of the ‘slow fashion’ movement, her brand has stuck to principles of ethical production and remaining free of abusive consumerist practices—not necessarily elements that financiers view as positive if they affect the bottom line. Ultimately this meant finding an external partner that believes in the brand as passionately as Fontaneda does—but with the business flair, and capital, to take it into new territory. “I am the creative and Daniel will handle the finances and the numbers, so I now have time to dedicate myself to what I really want to do,” Fontaneda told me.In terms of investment, an underplayed area was marketing. This will be rectified with the aim of getting the Tissa Fontaneda brand out to the right media and to global consumers. “I would also like to open more stores and improve the ones we have,” said the founder. High-potential regions earmarked for expansion are the Middle East and potentially North America, while Japan is now a new target because craftsmanship resonates strongly there. Aligning on strategic changes Codes Llamas will elevate the stores by making them more sophisticated, and by improving the buying experience. He is also expected to cut seasonal SKU counts, concentrating on the styles that will sell well; a pragmatic take in a contracting luxury market. This will not mean clawing back margin by using cheaper materials, a route some brands have taken. “There will be no compromise on quality, that is something we both agree on—maintaining brand integrity is critical to our future success,” said Fontaneda. It means that even less expensive lines such as Pochette (from $375) and Gizmo (from $800) will retain the same quality of leather and wide color choices. For Fontaneda, each piece must remain a sensory experience rooted in craftsmanship. Codes Llamas also has his sights set on Gen Z—not an obvious target for the brand—without alienating existing clients. It means when new designs are being floated, the founder and the CEO will be adversarial in their approach; both defending their positions based on sound reasoning relevant to both business conditions and emotional Zeitgeist. This sparring is another positive development. E-commerce becomes a priorityThe first season that will see Codes Llamas’s influence will be Spring/Summer 2026, but perhaps the most immediately obvious change for consumers will be in e-commerce. A revamped website now blends Fontaneda’s pre-digital, tactile aesthetic with a digital strategy to pull in Gen Z: expanded storytelling, speedy transactions via Shopify, and a full-scale social media program across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The aim is to integrate the brand’s emotional, artisanal universe while expanding its reach to a new generation of consumers. The distinctive bubble look is the brand's signature. Tissa FontanedaIn the effort to internationalize, the wholesale channel has been reviewed. As well as deepening its presence with retailers in its existing 19 markets, Tissa Fontaneda has partnered with a wholesale showroom in Italy, creating a dedicated hub where global buyers can experience the collections first-hand and select pieces suitable for their customers.Amid the changes—and as the new CEO and Fontaneda find the right balance for their working relationship—it will be interesting to track the brand’s development. Now that it has new capital backing and clear governance (often missing in smaller high-end brands), and a more disciplined commercial strategy, Tissa Fontaneda now has a model that can compete on a more equal footing. The next two years will determine whether a niche, craft‑driven house can scale globally without diluting the artisanal DNA that made it desirable in the first place.