Gucci’s Alessandro Michele resigns as creative director
Alessandro Michele has resigned as Gucci’s creative director after nearly eight years.
Kering, the luxury house’s parent business, said the 49-year-old designer “played a fundamental part in making the brand what it is today.”
François-Henri Pinault, the conglomerate’s CEO, said: “The road that Gucci and Alessandro walked together over the past years is unique and will remain as an outstanding moment in the history of the House… His passion, his imagination, his ingenuity and his culture put Gucci center stage, where its place is.”
Michele started Gucci as a handbag designer, so her nomination as CEO in 2015 was a surprise. With the brand’s relevance declining, he overhauled its identity, ditching Tom Ford’s sensual design for “geek chic.”
Michele introduced vibrant, maximalist designs, reimagining Renaissance art via fashion and organising spectacular runway displays at historic settings. He embraced the brand’s sumptuous past, christening the Dionysus handbag after the Greek god of wine.
His genderfluid designs blurred the label’s menswear and female divisions, and collaborations with Adidas and The North Face gave it mass market appeal.
Michele, one of Time’s 100 most influential people in 2017, recruited Harry Styles and Billie Eilish as brand ambassadors. He and Jared Leto wore matching Gucci outfits to the Met Gala in May.
Michele’s leadership boosted revenue. Gucci made 9.7 billion euros ($10.1 billion) for Kering last year, more than Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, and Saint Laurent combined.
Michele’s reign was rocky. In 2019, he brought models down a Milan catwalk in white straightjackets, prompting a protest from Ayesha Tan Jones, who put up a note reading “Mental health is not fashion.” In the same year, the company was compelled to apologise for a blackface-inspired sweater and a $790 turban.
Kering hasn’t named Michele’s replacement and has hinted at additional change. Gucci’s design office will guide the brand’s output until a “new creative organisation” is revealed.