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Bloomberg
Alessandro Michele, the creative director who turned Gucci into a hit brand with younger generations, is leaving the
Italian label.
Kering SA, which owns the brand, announced Michele is stepping down in a statement. Gucci’s design office will oversee the label’s direction until a new creative organisation is
announced, the company said.
Michele, 49, helped turn the Florence, Italy-based brand into a fashion behemoth since he took over creative leadership at the start of 2015.
Gucci is three times the size it was when CEO Marco Bizzarri “took a smart punt on the hitherto unknown name and placed him at the helm of Kering’s dominant brand,†Flavio Cereda, an analyst at Jefferies, wrote in a note.
“The next step is necessarily more complicated now,†with questions on the successor.
Will the designer be an internal versus an external replacement, will there be a divisional split, and will there be more leadership changes, especially at a time of volatile demand, Cereda asked. The ambition for Gucci to reach €15 billion ($15.6 billion) of sales in the medium term, which roughly means by 2027, seems “increasingly out of reach,†he added.
Michele’s fashions, recognizable for their flamboyant, bohemian-chic designs, have been worn by celebrities such as Jared Leto, Harry Styles and Florence Welch. Under him, Gucci also engaged in collaborations with other brands and companies, notably Adidas AG and North Face Inc.
Despite some progress, however, Gucci’s growth has lagged behind rival brands since the lifting of most Covid-19 restrictions, including fellow Kering label Yves Saint Laurent and LVMH’s fashion and leather unit, which is led by Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.