Summer brings a rare moment of quiet in the fashion industry, as luxury houses retreat on long August breaks before the rush of the September shows season sets in. But there’s been no rest for Meryll Rogge. In July 2025, it was announced that the Belgian designer will succeed Francesco Risso as Marni’s new creative director, taking on the expressive Italian house alongside her Ghent-based namesake label. If that weren’t a tall enough order, this year she’s added a new knitwear offering to her plate too. Teaming up with British knitwear expert Sarah Allsop, the project pares back the codes that have defined Rogge’s success to an essence – a wardrobe of beautiful, tactile knits designed to be passed down through generations. Aptly, given its personal feeling, she has named the brand B.B. Wallace after her sons.
B.B. Wallace: knitwear to be passed through generations
(Image credit: Marie Déhé)
Rogge and Allsop first met over a decade ago, while both were in-house designers for Marc Jacobs on opposite sides of the pond. Allsop was part of the knitwear team in Paris, while Rogge was designing ready-to-wear in New York, but frequent crossovers during fashion week allowed the pair to become friends. ‘Sarah’s technical knowledge is really strong,’ says Rogge of the organic decision to embark on the project together. ‘She knows how to make the most beautiful garments and she has a very operational, straightforward way of working.’ Of their shared approach, Allsop adds, ‘Meryll and I share a creative foundation. We were both raised, as designers, with the same DNA and visual language. What I admire in her work is the unique juxtaposition she brings – a play of references and a beautifully deconstructed femininity that feels both intellectual and instinctive.’
Rogge went on to work for Dries Van Noten before launching her own brand in 2019, where she has developed a vision of slightly off, contemporary femininity that has earned her places on the LVMH and Woolmark Prize shortlists, and won her the Andam Grand Prize earlier in 2025. Allsop went in-house at Tory Burch before becoming a knitwear consultant, designing for a range of international brands. Through their respective years of experience, both have learned that it is often the simplest things that are the hardest to execute well. As such, their first mission for B.B. Wallace was to capture the spirit of the ‘forever sweater’ – that unassuming, worn-to-death piece that somehow goes with everything, perhaps once belonging to a grandparent.
‘We have years of knowledge on what makes a great sweater – the washings, the gauges, the fashioning and the finish’
Meryll Rogge
‘Sarah and I have years of knowledge on what makes a great sweater – the washings, the gauges, the fashioning and the finish,’ says Rogge. ‘We took time to work on finding the perfect yarns and really master the execution of timeless knitwear.’ The product of studying Anglo-Saxon knit traditions and tracking down lustrous natural materials from across Europe, B.B. Wallace’s core styles, the ‘Wylie’ and ‘Sherman’, are made to be future heirlooms. Both employ a clever double-faced construction that pairs an outer layer of hardy Shetland wool – naturally protective against wind, rain and spills – with comforting Italian cashmere inside, where fabric touches the skin. Slouchy yet smart, special yet wearable, they are, as Allsop describes, ‘the kind of sweaters you can wear with anything – from sweatpants at home to an elegant evening dress’.
(Image credit: Marie Déhé)
For Rogge, the rewarding part of this meticulous process has been seeing her own family wear the ‘Wylie’. ‘My husband wears it, I wear it, my parents have a variation of it, and although my kids are too small, it’s very cocoonish – you just don’t want to take it off. It’s a multigenerational piece.’ Alongside perfecting these two key designs, the pair have launched B.B. Wallace with an array of pieces intended to elevate everyday life, such as a cosy double-faced Shetland blanket, scout-style bandanas, and popcorn-stitch organic cotton pointelle sets inspired by the onesies Rogge dressed her children in when they were little. Each item is named after a female artist they revere – from Cindy Sherman to Judy Chicago – and arrives in a simple yet pleasing palette of classic navy, true red, earthy green and pale blue. Beneath their exquisite construction, a sustainable ethos runs through every item – valuing craft over seasonal turnover and ensuring no material goes to waste.
Though B.B. Wallace only launched this August, a busy few months already lie ahead. Following their pop-up at retailer Sketch in Knokke, Belgium, the duo will host events at Kiki Niesten in Maastricht and Over-Amstel Farm during Amsterdam Fashion Week, and are already planning a special capsule collection to be sold in Japan. Asked why she has embarked on such a project at a pivotal moment in her career, Rogge describes B.B. Wallace as a creative reprieve from the demands of her brand and forthcoming start at Marni – a place to explore ideas that feel simpler, slower and more grounding. ‘Other people work on different projects, like musicians who venture off into solo work,’ she explains. ‘I like to think it keeps things fresh, dipping into another universe where you have a completely different set of aesthetics and values.’
B.B. Wallace is available at the brand’s website, and selected retailers.
