Alessandro Michele leaves Gucci

Only at the end of the day does confirmation come. After hours of waiting. «Gucci announces today that Alessandro Michele is stepping down as creative director. Alessandro Michele has been at the helm of the Maison’s creative team since January 21, 2015, making Gucci what it is today, thanks to his revolutionary creativity and always respecting the brand’s codes,” the note released by the Maison explained. «There are times when paths part because of the different perspectives that each of us have». Alessandro Michele himself said. «Today ends an extraordinary journey for me, lasting more than 20 years, with a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion. During this long period, Gucci has been my home, my adoptive family. To this extended family, to all the individuals who have cared for and supported it, goes my heartfelt thanks, my biggest and most heartfelt embrace». Gucci’s creative team will carry on the creative direction of the fashion house until a new organization is announced. A cold shower for the Italian fashion community that comes after being circulated in the US press last night. «I was lucky enough to meet Alessandro at the end of 2014. Since then, we have had the pleasure of working side by side as Gucci charted its course to success», President and ceo of Gucci Marco Bizzarri stated. While François-Henri Pinault, chairman and ceo of Kering, stressed that «the road that Gucci and Alessandro have traveled together in recent years is unique and will remain an exceptional moment in the history of this fashion house. I am grateful to Alessandro for bringing so much of himself to this adventure. I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his creative journey». There are two questions now being asked by the fashion industry, and MFF seeks to answer to both.

Who will replace the roman creative director, the architect of a revolution in both style and thinking that has been a trend setter since his disruptive debut in 2015? This is the question the piece signed by Giampietro Baudo tries to answer (see MFF of November 24). The other unknown was the reaction of the markets. On the Paris stock exchange, Kering's stock rose by 0.59%. Surprising even to our editorial staff was the response of analysts, who view the changing of the guard with a benevolent eye, almost as if it were expected, for example in the Chinese marketplace. The dynamics of Alessandro Michele's exit are reminiscent of what happened to the designer who preceded him, Frida Giannini. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity to the US newspaper reportedly said that Michele «was asked to initiate a strong change in design» to revive the brand's sales, but the designer did not comply with the request.

Another source reportedly said that François-Henri Pinault, chairman and ceo of Gucci's parent company Kering, is considering a change of pace for the flagship brand. Michele was appointed to the top creative role in January 2015, after taking a bow at the end of Gucci's menswear show, still to the former Diana Majestic. With that show, he reinvented Gucci with a completely new, eccentric, androgynous aesthetic that toppled the sophisticated jet-set image of her predecessor Frida Giannini. She and the previous ceo, Patrizio Di Marco, exited the fashion house with an excitement that in a “historical course and recourse” seems to be repeated now. Gucci's chairman and ceo, Marco Bizzarri, chose Michele to succeed Giannini, who had left the company a week earlier, and has long been a strong supporter of the designer.

Since his appointment, Gucci has posted growth of more than 35% for five consecutive quarters by the first quarter of 2018, prompting Bizzarri to set a revenue target of 10 billion euros, and to raise the bar a few months ago to 15 billion. However, Gucci's run in recent months has slowed compared to the Group's other brands, even though organic sales increased in the third quarter. Sales for the Italian brand amounted to 2.6 billion euros, up by 9% on a like-for-like basis, after a 4% increase in the second quarter. (All rights reserved)