(Rome) The flamboyant Italian stylist Alessandro Michele, who left Gucci in 2022, will take over as creative director of Valentino, the famous Roman house announced on Thursday.
The 51-year-old stylist will take up his position on Tuesday at the house founded in 1960, where he will succeed Pierpaolo Piccioli, whose sudden departure was announced at the end of last week after 25 years at Valentino.
Founded in Rome in 1960 by Valentino Garavani, the Valentino company is an internationally recognized Italian luxury house, with a network of 211 stores in more than 25 countries.
In July 2023, luxury group Kering announced the acquisition of a 30% stake in Valentino, with an option to acquire 100% of the Italian fashion house by 2028.
“I am delighted that Alessandro has been appointed to the creative direction of Valentino and I am convinced that thanks to his creativity, his culture and his multiple talents, he will be able to brilliantly interpret the unique heritage of this magnificent house and make it shine », rejoiced the CEO of Kering, François-Henri Pinault, in a press release.
“I look forward to seeing his passion, imagination and commitment at work in this new chapter for Valentino,” he added.
Alessandro Michele left Gucci, owned by Kering, after seven years as creative director during which he transformed the Florentine brand, but without succeeding in recent years in relaunching sales with the same vigor as his competitors. He succeeded Frida Giannini in 2015 when he had already worked for the brand for 12 years.
“Alessandro Michele is an exceptional talent and this underlines our great ambitions for the house,” said the president of Valentino, Rachid Mohamed Rachid. With him, “a new page of excellence and infinite beauty is ready to be written in the history of Valentino,” he added.
The replacement of Pierpaolo Piccioli by Alessandro Michele marks a new episode in the ongoing game of musical chairs in Italian fashion.
Argentinian Adrian Appiolaza presented his first collection for Moschino in February, following the sudden death of his predecessor Davide Renne just ten days after taking office.
Also taking their first steps in Milan in February were Walter Chiapponi for Blumarine, who succeeded Nicola Brognano, and Matteo Tamburini for Tod’s.
Walter Chiapponi has been artistic director of Tod’s since 2019, while Matteo Tamburini headed ready-to-wear at Bottega Veneta, the Italian Hermès.