Less than three weeks after his debut at the Milan Fashion Week, I meet Rhuigi Villaseñor in Milan, Bocconi district, on an ordinary Wednesday of September, when the summer heat continues to hit without letting the transition of the season take place. «I have anxiety and tachycardia» he explains in between photos, even though from the calmness with which he poses in front of the lens, it hardly shines through. Wearing an all-red outfit and flip-flops on his feet, Rhuigi is called upon to change the face of Bally, the Swiss brand with more than 170 years of history that a few months ago-in January 2022-selected him as creative director to kick off the process that Villaseñor himself has dubbed "ecdysis," a molting in its scientific definition. «Last summer we talked about a collaboration between me and Bally,» he tells me when I ask him about the genesis of his new role. «CEO Nicolas Girotto and I immediately found a connection through the history of the brand, and at that point, it was clear it was going to be a long relationship.» Born in Manila and moved to Los Angeles when he was nine years old, he founded the successful Rhude, the brand of which he is also CEO, on a close network of fans, from Jay-Z to Kendrick Lamar, he became one of the American fashion prodigies, having less than 30 years old. A background that makes his new challenge, changing the skin of a deeply European luxury brand, more exciting, as Rhuigi himself recounted, seemed like a sign of destiny written in his family tree. «My passion for watches was one of the ways they convinced me,» he tells me jokingly. «But somehow the brand has always been a part of me, something that was unconsciously part of my family's wardrobe, from my father to my grandfather. Somehow it had to happen.» If it's fate, and I am convinced it is, then Rhuigi’s new life between Lugano and Los Angeles will require him an extra effort. He will split his time not only between Bally and Rhude, but also with Zara, with which the designer collaborated just a few months ago. «At least it's the proof that I am able to split my brain in such a way that I can work for three different companies,» he comments on his multiple jobs. «There are three conversations I carry on with my audience; my vision for sportswear, streetwear, and luxury. The first one is my opinion, the other is a conversation, and the other one is a statement.» And of course, that statement is Bally.