Italian designer Alessandro Michele has left fashion powerhouse Gucci, after overseeing a surge in sales at the fashion powerhouse since 2015.
“Gucci today announces that Alessandro Michele is stepping down as creative director of Gucci,” said French conglomerate Kering, which owns the Italian house.
It said he had played “a fundamental part in making the brand what it is today through his groundbreaking creativity”.
Michele, in the same joint statement, said: “There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have.”
Kering said Gucci’s design office would “continue to carry the direction of the house forward until a new creative organisation” was announced.
Industry bible Women’s Wear Daily earlier on Wednesday said Michele was quitting after being asked to orchestrate a creative revamp to restore the brand’s lustre.
But enthusiasm had begun to wane among industry insiders, according to WWD, with Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault eager for a quick change at the helm.
Pinault wished the designer a “great next chapter in his creative journey”.
“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,” he said.
