Alessandro Michele To Step Down As Gucci’s Creative Director

Style

| LAST UPDATE 11/27/2022

By Elizabeth Russo
Alessandro Michele Gucci Exit
Mike Windle via Getty Images for LACMA

After seven dedicated years to Gucci, Alessandro Michele is parting ways with the Italian fashion house. A man who made a mark in the fashion biz in ways that didn't exist prior, Michele is a massive part of where fashion is today and what it has become. The Italian fashion mastermind took the news to Instagram, confirming he will, in fact, be stepping down as creative director. Here's what he said.

Michele began his journey with Gucci back in 2002 under the previous creative director Tom Ford. From that position, Michele went on to run the label's handbag designs and was eventually deemed the brand's senior leather goods designer. In 2011, he was appointed as associate creative director to Frida Gianni, whom he would eventually replace a few years later. Michele has completely transformed the traditional fashion house into a playful, colorful, gender-fluid fashion house incorporating maximalist designs while dressing all the biggest stars - from Harry Styles to Billie Eilish, Dakota Johnson, Jared Leto, and many more.

Alessandro Michele Gucci creative director
 ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
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Michele took to his Instagram to break the news, writing a heartwarming letter to his followers explaining his departure from the beloved brand. "There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have," he wrote. "Today, an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than twenty years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion. During this long period, Gucci has been my home, my adopted family. To this extended family, to all the individuals, who have looked after and supported it, I send my most sincere thanks, my biggest and most heartfelt embrace. Together with them I have wished, dreamed, imagined."

Gucci's parent company, Kering, the French luxury group, later confirmed Michele's exit in a statement to Vogue but has not stated his replacement just yet. "I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet Alessandro at the end of 2014, since then, we have had the pleasure to work closely together as Gucci has charted its successful path over these last eight years," Gucci president/CEO Marco Bizzarri said. "I would like to thank him for his 20 years of commitment to Gucci and for his vision, devotion, and unconditional love for this unique House during his tenure as Creative Director." Since the announcement, Michele has not yet announced his next moves, so stay tuned for updates.

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