Gucci is shedding its skin. Or is that it?
Alessandro Michele abruptly stepped down as Gucci’s creative director in November, leaving a trail of questions about what happened behind closed doors and the future of the Italian luxury brand. His new path, and potentially another textbook reinvention, is the subject of much speculation, as no successor has been named as of yet.
According to WWD sources, strong disagreements over the future of the brand led to a rift between Michele and President and CEO Marco Bizzarri, who had championed the designer since he named him the brand’s creative director in January 2015.
Bizzarri and François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Gucci parent Kering, are understood to have urged Michele to initiate a strong design shift, change of pace and further elevation of the brand towards a true luxury positioning. .
Gucci has grown to achieve sales last year of 9.73 billion euros, just shy of its often-stated target of 10 billion euros, and Michele’s lawsuits have grown exponentially during her tenure. Sources believe that Michele was presented with the suggestion to delegate some of his many responsibilities, possibly creating a new design structure with the addition of key people, and that this may have caused a fracture as he is known for his hands-on approach and attention to every detail.
After WWD first reported that Michele was expected to leave Gucci and the brand confirmed the split, the designer’s parting words were revealing as it seemed paramount to stay true to his own values and vision.
“There are times when the paths separate due to the different perspectives that each of us may have. Today ends for me an extraordinary journey, of more than 20 years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion”, said Michele.
“During this long period, Gucci has been my home, my adoptive family. To this extended family, to all the people who have cared for and supported them, I send my most sincere thanks, my biggest and most heartfelt hug. Together with them I have wished, dreamed, imagined. Without them, none of what I have built would have been possible. To them goes my most sincere wish: that you continue cultivating your dreams, the subtle and intangible material that makes life worth living. Continue to nourish yourselves with a poetic and inclusive imagery, remaining faithful to your values. May you always live from your passions, driven by the wind of freedom.
In the same statement, Bizzarri, who selected Michele to succeed Frida Giannini, underscored the designer’s commitment to Gucci, “his vision, devotion and unconditional love” for the house during his tenure.
Pinault also noted the “outstanding moment in the history of the house”, as Michele “[brought] much of himself in this adventure. His passion, his imagination, his wit and his culture put Gucci center stage, where his place is.”
Sources maintained that frictions had been simmering for some time, and indeed Michele did not travel to Seoul for a repeat of Gucci’s Cosmogonie show scheduled for November 1. The show was eventually canceled following the tragic events in the South Korean city, where more than 150 people were killed and dozens injured after being crushed in a huge crowd in the Itaewon nightlife district while celebrating Halloween.
However, Michele’s departure seemed sudden as no succession plan has been revealed. In addition, it took place ahead of the fall 2023 menswear collection, which will be presented in Milan on January 13: a return to the runway for that category after the designer experimented with different show formats and timings in recent seasons, following his own inclinations. The Fall 2023 Men’s Collection will be presented by the in-house team.
Gucci may be waiting for a high-profile designer, whose hands could perhaps be tied by a non-compete contract, or the company could be looking for an internal promotion, which is not a new path at Kering or at Gucci.
Internal names circulating after Michele’s departure included Remo Macco, a Gucci veteran who was recently named the studio’s design director; Davide Renne, also a longtime Gucci designer, and Marco Maria Lombardi, a member of the Gucci design studio. As far as established designers go, basically everyone’s name has been thrown into the water, from Maria Grazia Chiuri and Riccardo Tisci to Daniel Roseberry, now at Schiaparelli.
Michele joined the Gucci design studio in 2002 after a stint as a senior accessories designer at Fendi. Giannini brought him to Gucci and was named her partner in 2011. In 2014, she took on additional creative director responsibility for Richard Ginori, the porcelain brand acquired by Gucci in 2013.
Without a doubt, Michele made Gucci a major fashion influence again and his gender-fluid, romantic and inclusive ethos left its mark on a host of other designers, catering to a younger and more diverse clientele. However, according to one source, “Pinault has been trying to win back the super-luxury consumer.”
Michele reinvented Gucci with an androgynous style that toppled Giannini’s sophisticated socialite lifestyle image. Giannini’s tenure as the brand’s creative director lasted 10 years, while her predecessor, Tom Ford, designed Gucci’s first change and stayed there for nearly eight years.
Following Michele’s appointment, Gucci posted growth of more than 35 percent for five consecutive quarters in the first quarter of 2018, prompting Bizzarri to set a revenue target of €10 billion for the brand in June of that year. year.
His departure comes on the heels of his most recent show for the brand last September, which was one of the highlights of the spring 2023 season. The designer sent out a number of models in both his signature androgynous look and a few more. understated with an injection of classic tailoring.
The twist came when a screen was raised to show that half the audience was watching the exact same show: the models on the show were all identical twins, in a personal reflection by Michele on the nature of identity. She revealed after the show that her mother was a twin, so she always felt that she had two mothers.
Gucci RTW Spring 2023
Giovanni Giannoni/DMA
It’s unclear what the future holds for Michele, who has expressed a passion for filmmaking, much like Ford. While rumors point to Chanel, the French brand has reiterated its support for creative director Virginie Viard, and WWD’s sources doubt that Michele is inclined to leave Rome for Paris for personal reasons.
Despite Michele’s successful tenure at Gucci, which was fueled by its unique aesthetic codes, analysts and observers generally approved of the brand’s decision to start a new chapter, believing it will bring new energy, fresh creativity, and business acceleration. . All agreed that the brand has enough clout, a strong supply chain, the best digital experience and customer engagement skills to weather the transition.
In October, Kering reported that its revenue source, Gucci, continued to underperform other brands in the group, although organic sales accelerated in the third quarter. Revenue for the Italian label totaled 2.6 billion euros, up 9 percent like-for-like, after a 4 percent increase in the second quarter.
That was slightly below the consensus of analyst estimates, which called for a 10 percent rise in comparable sales.
The Bizzarri-Michele dream team helped triple the size of Gucci since 2015 and analysts see the next step and expected turnaround as more complicated, wondering if management changes could also be on the cards at a time of more volatile demand. .
Indeed, sources in Milan also wonder if Bizzarri could take a leadership position within Kering and be succeeded by Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini. By the way, the latter executive, as reported, appeared at the Bain & Co. and Altagamma conference in Milan in November, a first for Bellettini, who has not attended any events in Milan of late.
A sign of increased focus on driving the top line and a change in direction at Gucci can be seen in the appointment last spring of former Roger Vivier brand manager Maria Cristina Lomanto. She was named executive vice president, general brand manager, a new role for the Italian luxury company. Lomanto was tasked with focusing on collection coordination and retail merchandising, visual merchandising, beauty and eyewear licensing, and retail training, reporting to Bizzarri.
Pinault also touted the search for historic codes, iconic bags and crafts, as the executive commented on the group’s performance in the third quarter.
Source: news.google.com