The song has stopped in at least one game of fashion musical chairs. Valentino has a new creative director: Alessandro Michele, the former Gucci designer who left the brand in 2022.
Mr. Michele, who was known for turning Gucci into a $10 billion powerhouse by turning it into a baroque treasure chest of inclusivity and references to magpies, replaces Pierpaolo Piccioli, who parted ways with Valentino last week .
The appointment, first reported by Vogue Business, brings Mr. Michele, 51, to the heart of the fashion world. An introverted figure with the beard of an Old Testament prophet, rings on most of his fingers and a penchant for evoking dark philosophers, he has been at Gucci for most of his career. His work has been favored by celebrities such as Jared Leto, Harry Styles and Dakota Johnson.
“It is a great honor to be welcomed to Maison Valentino,” Mr Michele captioned an Instagram post shared on Thursday. “I feel great joy and great responsibility.”
The move to Valentino reunites Mr. Michele with Kering, the French conglomerate that owns Gucci and 30 percent of Valentino, a brand it expects to fully own by 2028. (Mayhoola for Investments, the Qatar fund , currently owns the remainder). Mr Michele’s appointment signals the group’s desire to grow Valentino, which reported sales of $1.56bn for 2022, into a brand that can compete with behemoths such as Dior and Hermès.
Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Valentino’s chairman, said in a press release that Mr. Michele’s appointment “underlines our great ambitions for Maison Valentino.”
Speculation about the designer’s appointment had been rife since news broke of Mr Piccioli’s departure from Valentino. But there were those who doubted that Mr. Michele and Kering would once again agree on an aesthetic vision because of his somewhat abrupt departure from Gucci after slowing sales reportedly prompted his employers to ask for a change in direction.
Following the announcement of Mr. Michele’s appointment, François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chief executive, said in an emailed statement: “I am confident that with his creativity, culture and versatile talent, he will be able to perform masterfully the unique legacy. of this wonderful house and make it flourish.’
At Valentino, Mr. Michele will work closely with Jacopo Venturini, the brand’s chief executive, with whom he also worked at Gucci when Mr. Venturini was vice president of merchandising and global markets. And he will continue to live in Rome, where Valentino was founded in 1960.
Luca Solca, a luxury analyst at wealth management firm Bernstein, is cautiously optimistic about the appointment.
“I wonder if that’s a good fit,” he said. “But whoever dares wins. Valentino needs new ideas and Alessandro was a master at reviving Gucci.”
“The acid test for him is to imagine a new Valentino that is distinct and compelling, but at the same time connects to what we’ve seen in the past,” added Mr Solka. “I’m not Valentucci.”
Whether Mr. Michele succeeds will be seen in his first show, which is expected to take place at Paris Fashion Week this September. Launches at Valentino on April 2nd.
