The Alessandro Michele page turns to Gucci.

The designer leaves the Italian brand, after seven years as creative director during which he "greatly contributed to making Gucci what it is today".

However, in recent years it has failed to revive sales with the same vigor as its competitors.

"There are times when paths diverge due to the different perspectives each of us may have," Alessandro Michele said in a statement from Kering Group, owner of the brand which alone accounts for 55% of 17, 6 billion euros in group sales posted in 2021. "Today ends an extraordinary journey for me that lasted more than twenty years," he continues.

“Gucci has been my home, my adoptive family”.

His departure is a "surprise"

"His passion, his imagination, his fantasy and his culture have contributed to putting Gucci back on the front of the stage, where it belongs", greeted the CEO of the luxury group, François-Henri Pinault.

No replacement has yet been announced.

Alessandro Michele, who will turn 50 on Friday, succeeded Frida Giannini in 2015 when he had already worked for the brand for 12 years.

"A risk-taking at the time, since he was completely unknown," says Serge Carreira, lecturer at Sciences po Paris in the Fashion and Luxury Masters.

For him, Alessando Michele "has embodied the new chapter of the Gucci house, engaging on societal issues, inscribing the brand in its time.

He revived the heritage of the house by giving it a modernity”.

His departure is a “surprise”.

Financiers hail "very good news"

After a jump in sales between 2015 and 2019, Gucci has stalled compared to its competitors, slowed down in particular by Covid-19 and its heavy dependence on the Asian market (44%).

In 2021, Gucci achieved a turnover increase of 31.2% compared to 2020, against an increase of 41% for Prada and 49.6% for Chanel.

Wednesday morning, after the announcement of the departure of Alessandro Michele by the specialized site

Women's Wear Daily

, citing anonymous sources, financial analysts did not hide their satisfaction.

“Very good news”, underlined a note from Bernstein: “Alessandro Michele has been doing the same thing for seven years”.

And according to the RBC bank, "institutional investors seem to agree that a new approach is needed to relaunch the brand".

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