MILAN – Beppe Angiolini, the Italian buyer behind the Sugar multi-brand concept store and front-row fixture, has died. He was 73.

Angiolini had been battling an illness for some time before he died Saturday at his home in Arezzo, Italy.

Born Giuseppe in 1952, he started a career in fashion in his early twenties, originally opening a small store on Arezzo’s Corso Italia in 1978, which would then become the internationally renowned Sugar. Hinged on research and avant-garde brands, it drew shoppers from across Italy.

He quickly became a prominent figure among international buyers, respected for his discerning and unconventional eye.

Expanded into a womenswear and menswear concept store, Sugar relocated to the 18th-century Palazzo Lambardi in Arezzo in 2018. Angiolini filled the 13,000-square-foot space boasting frescoes and wooden beam ceilings with not just fashion, but also art, books and music and ventured into hospitality adding the boutique hotel Sugar Rooms and the No Sugar Please bar to the retail experience.

Angiolini had been honorary president of Camera Buyer Italia, the country’s retailers’ association, between 2014 and 2018, and its president between 2008 and 2014. He also served in consultancy roles for a range of events and organizations, including the jewelry trade show Oro Arezzo.

“Today I am losing a dear friend, with whom I shared an important journey, a passion for this profession and the belief that our stores could be places to create culture and give space to talent,” said Maura Basili, president and co-founder of Camera Buyer Italia.

“Beppe had a free, curious and always highly individual perspective, as well as the courage to follow his instincts… I am deeply grateful to him for all he gave our association. As a friend, I will carry with me the memory of our conversations, his energy and his unique ability to imagine something others could not yet see. We will miss him deeply,” she offered.

“With Beppe Angiolini, the fashion world loses a figure of great sensitivity and vision, who helped champion Italian creativity and support entire generations of talent,” echoed Carlo Capasa, chairman of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Italy’s fashion governing body.

“I had known Beppe for many years, having first met him when he was among the first to believe in Costume National [the brand Capasa founded with his brother Ennio]. I always admired his extraordinary ability to recognize talent, his curiosity and his consistently forward-looking perspective. His passion and contribution have left a deep mark on our industry. On behalf of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and myself, I extend my heartfelt condolences and our deepest sympathies to his family,” he said.

Angiolini is survived by his brother Alessandro.

Details on the funeral arrangements were not immediately available.