Italian trend home Valentino has named Gucci’s former star designer Alessandro Michele as its new creative director.
Michele, who oversaw Gucci’s creations for eight years till November 2022, is changing Pierpaolo Piccioli, whose departure was introduced final week.
He will begin his new position on April 2 and will likely be primarily based in Rome, the Milan-based firm stated in a press release Thursday (March 28).
The 51-year-old’s appointment at Valentino comes as one thing of a shock.
Gucci proprietor Kering SA parted methods with the designer after gross sales of the label didn’t sustain with the efficiency of a few of its largest rivals such as Louis Vuitton and Hermes.
Last yr, Qatar’s Mayhoola offered a 30% stake in Valentino to Kering, with an possibility for the French firm to purchase the remaining by 2028.
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Kering chief govt officer Francois-Henri Pinault welcomed Michele’s arrival.
“I’m sure that together with his creativity, tradition and versatile expertise, he’ll be capable of interpret masterfully the distinctive heritage of this magnificent home and make it flourish,” Pinault stated in a press release.
The hyperlinks between Valentino and Gucci aren’t new. Last yr, Kering named former Valentino trend director Sabato De Sarno as its new designer.
Jacopo Venturini, the CEO of Valentino, was once head of merchandising at Gucci throughout Michele’s time there.
Michele’s fashions at Gucci turned recognisable for his or her flamboyant and bohemian-chic designs.
Under his route, Gucci additionally collaborated with different manufacturers, notably Adidas AG and North Face Inc, as properly as Balenciaga, one other Kering model.
Valentino, whose purple carpet designs have been worn just lately by stars together with Zendaya and Florence Pugh, was based in Italy in 1960 by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti.
In 1968, Jackie Kennedy famously wore an ivory lace Valentino gown when she married Aristotle Onassis.
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Valentino was acquired by Mayhoola greater than a decade in the past.
Piccioli’s current Valentino collections have created buzz for his or her magnificence and single-coloured focus. Two years in the past, the label unveiled an autumn and winter assortment the place all items had been vibrant pink.
During this month’s Paris Fashion Week present, Piccioli unveiled greater than 60 seems to be with fashions donning solely black items, with variations between embroidered and sheer lace clothes.
The model reported income of €1.4bil (roughly RM7.15bil) in 2022 and €350mil (RM1.8bil) in earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. – Bloomberg
