Alessandro Michele, former creative director of Gucci, has been appointed creative director of haute couture house Valentino.
Michele will retire from Gucci in November 2022, and the announcement ends much industry speculation about where he will go next.
The designer said of his new role at the Rome-based brand: It is an immense pleasure and a great responsibility to join the Maison de Couture, where the word “beauty” is woven into a collective story of unique elegance, sophistication and ultimate elegance. ”
Michele celebrates, or denounces, an era of kitsch, maximalism, gender fluidity, geek chic, and unabashed eccentricity. His Gucci aesthetic was the opposite of the quiet luxury that has become popular in recent years. Harry Styles and Billie Eilish were fans of his designs at Gucci, which he joined in 2015.
Under Michele, Gucci’s profits nearly tripled. However, his tenure was not without controversy. Gucci was embroiled in a lace scandal in 2019, after which it pulled its polo neck from sale after critics said it resembled blackface. That same year, models staged a mental health protest during the brand’s Milan Fashion Week show. A model wearing a high-fashion version of a straitjacket held up her hand with the words “Mental health is not fashion” written on it.
Michele replaces Pierpaolo Piccioli, a widely loved figure in the industry who resigned from Valentino last week after more than 20 years at the company.
He will start his new job next week at Valentino’s headquarters near the Spanish Steps. His debut collection will reportedly be unveiled at Paris Fashion Week in September.
“Fashion is a magical thing. The power of what we put on our bodies to go out into the world is what makes it so mysterious,” he told the Guardian in 2022. told. ”
