Alessandro Michele Announced as New Creative Director of Valentino – Alessandro Michele, who previously served as the creative director of Gucci, has now been named the creative director of Valentino, the prestigious couture house. Following his departure from Gucci in November 2022, this announcement puts an end to widespread industry speculation regarding his next move.
The designer said of his new role at the Rome-based brand: “It’s an incredible honour. I feel the immense joy and the huge responsibility to join a maison de couture that has the word ‘beauty’ carved on a collective story made of distinctive elegance, refinement and extreme grace.” Michele can be credited—or criticized—for ushering in an era characterized by kitsch, maximalism, gender fluidity, geek chic, and unabashed eccentricity.
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His distinctive Gucci aesthetic starkly contrasted with the prevailing trend of understated luxury. Notably, celebrities like Harry Styles and Billie Eilish were admirers of his designs during his tenure at Gucci, where he commenced in 2015. During Michele’s leadership, Gucci experienced nearly a threefold increase in revenues. However, his tenure faced its share of controversies.
In 2019, the brand became entangled in a racial controversy when a polo neck garment, criticized for resembling blackface, was withdrawn from sale. Concurrently, at the Milan Fashion Week show, a model staged a protest addressing mental health issues. Dressed in a haute couture rendition of a straitjacket, the model raised hands bearing the message “mental health is not fashion.”
Michele is set to take over from Pierpaolo Piccioli, a highly regarded figure in the industry, who recently departed Valentino after over twenty years with the brand. He will commence his new role at Valentino’s headquarters near the Spanish Steps next week. His inaugural collection for the label is expected to debut at Paris Fashion Week in September.
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