The song has stopped in not less than one game of musical chairs fashion. Valentino has a brand new creative director: Alessandro Michele, a former Gucci designer who left the brand in 2022.
Michele, known for turning Gucci right into a $10 billion powerhouse by turning it right into a baroque treasure chest stuffed with inclusivity and magpie references, replaces Pierpaolo Piccioli, who split from Valentino last week.
The nomination was first reported Vogue business, brings Michele, 51, back to the center of the style world. A mediagenic figure with the beard of an Old Testament prophet, rings on most of his fingers, and a penchant for quoting obscure philosophers. He worked at Gucci for many of his profession. His works were liked by stars such as Jared Leto, Harry Styles and Dakota Johnson.
“It is a great honor for me to welcome you to Maison Valentino,” Mr. Michele wrote within the caption Instagram post shared on Thursday. “I feel great joy and great responsibility.”
The trip to Valentino reconnects Mr. Michele with Kering, the French conglomerate that owns Gucci and 30 percent of Valentino, a brand it is predicted to take over entirely by 2028 (the remainder is currently owned by Qatari fund Mayhoola for Investments). Mr. Michele’s appointment signals Valentino’s desire to grow the group, it said sales of $1.56 billion in 2022right into a brand that may compete with giants such as Dior and Hermès.
Rachid Mohamed Rachid, president of Valentino, said in a press release that Mr. Michele’s appointment “underlines our great ambitions for Maison Valentino.”
Speculation in regards to the designer’s appointment has intensified since news of Piccioli’s departure from Valentino broke. However, there have been those that doubted that Michele and Kering would agree on an aesthetic vision again attributable to his slightly abrupt departure from Gucci after slowing sales reportedly prompted him to ask his employers to vary 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 masterfully interpret the unique heritage 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 chairman of merchandising and global markets. He will proceed to live in Rome, where Valentino was founded in 1960.
Luca Solca, a luxury goods analyst at wealth management firm Bernstein, is cautiously optimistic in regards to the appointment.
“I wonder if it’s a good choice,” he said. “But whoever dares wins. Valentino needs new ideas and Alessandro is a master at bringing Gucci to life.”
“The test for him is to imagine a new Valentino that is expressive and convincing, but at the same time connected to what we have seen before,” Solca added. “It’s not Valentucci.”
Whether Mr. Michele will manage to do that can be revealed during his first show, which is able to happen in September during Paris Fashion Week. He will start working at Valentino on April 2.
