MILAN, Italy — Ennio and Carlo Capasa — the brothers who founded Costume National in 1986 and served as the brand's creative director and chief executive, respectively — are exiting the Italian fashion house. (Carlo Capasa is also the chief executive officer of the Italian Fashion Chamber).

Costume National is owned by a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based holding company Sequedge Group, which first acquired a stake in the business in 2009.

“Today I will announce my resignation as a shareholder and creative director of Costume National," wrote Ennio Capasa in a statement. “I was hoping this would not happen. I fought with passion. The emotions I feel at this time are complex and take me back across these thirty extraordinary years, at the remarkable encounters, at the many shows and at the amazing creative energy that the world of fashion gives us everyday.”

"From the beginning I only had one idea: to create a style, to continue to evolve it, and to not follow the trend of the moment," continued the designer, who worked at Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo before returning to Italy to found Costume National.

“People say fashion is over, that marketing wins and that everything is an illusion,” he added. “Definitely not for me. I am, and will remain passionately committed to realising my own personal vision.”