At Gucci, Personal Vision, Business Opportunities at Crossroads
MILAN - The dust has settled on the news of Alessandro Michele's sudden exit from Gucci - and his farewell thoughts tell.
Thanking Gucci and the company team in a statement last Wednesday evening, Michele pointed out that his “heartfelt wish [for them is] to continue cultivating your dreams, the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living. May you continue to nourish yourself with poetic and inclusive images, remaining true to your values. May you always live from your passions, propelled by the wind of freedom."
Indeed, as first reported by WWD a day earlier, sources believed that Michele would leave the company to stay true to his own values after being asked "to initiate a strong design shift" to kick-start significant growth at Gucci. However, he did not agree to change his vision of the brand.
Related GalleriesMichele's "precise and consistent aesthetic codes helped transform Gucci and they were recognized as authentic by the market and by the younger generations, who have a sixth sense about it," said Giovanna Brambilla, partner at Milan-based executive search firm Value Search. "There were no contradictions between her values, the Gucci's product and communications. The brand's community found his narrative cohesive and the touchpoints he focused on - inclusion, gender fluidity, sustainability, the metaverse - created a hype but were seen as genuine and he was backed by management. Michele probably felt he didn't want to betray the trust his community had in him and that it made sense to end this venture with Gucci.
>A Milan-based luxury consultant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, believes that the 2019 exit of Jacopo Venturini, former executive vice president, merchandising and markets of Gucci, who is chief executive of Valentino, may have been prompted by his own efforts to tone down Michele's conceptual designs and focus on luxury , unlike the creator.
"Ironically, if the client doesn't quite understand how to enter the designer's fantasy, fantasy world, but is engaged and excited by all the hype around the brand, plus commercial items with less sophisticated content but more visual impact become hot tickets," the consultant said. "At Gucci, there was a disconnect between the market and the intellectual concept of Alessandro's brand. I think Gucci is reassessing its positioning now. After all, François-Henri Pinault [President and CEO of Gucci Kering's parent company], sees the results at Bottega Veneta, for example, where a new injection of creativity [by creative director Matthieu Blazy] continues to bring results. on-brand - despite the hefty price tags. So he must be thinking, why not at Gucci too?"
Another source told WWD that Pinault is considering a change of pace for the band's star brand and "was trying to reclaim the ultra-luxury consumer. This is exactly the strategy the luxury titan would have wanted at Bottega Veneta. Despite immense success with on-trend products designed by creative director Daniel Lee, the brand had lost some of its its luxurious look, one of the reasons that led to Lee's abrupt departure.
MILAN - The dust has settled on the news of Alessandro Michele's sudden exit from Gucci - and his farewell thoughts tell.
Thanking Gucci and the company team in a statement last Wednesday evening, Michele pointed out that his “heartfelt wish [for them is] to continue cultivating your dreams, the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living. May you continue to nourish yourself with poetic and inclusive images, remaining true to your values. May you always live from your passions, propelled by the wind of freedom."
Indeed, as first reported by WWD a day earlier, sources believed that Michele would leave the company to stay true to his own values after being asked "to initiate a strong design shift" to kick-start significant growth at Gucci. However, he did not agree to change his vision of the brand.
Related GalleriesMichele's "precise and consistent aesthetic codes helped transform Gucci and they were recognized as authentic by the market and by the younger generations, who have a sixth sense about it," said Giovanna Brambilla, partner at Milan-based executive search firm Value Search. "There were no contradictions between her values, the Gucci's product and communications. The brand's community found his narrative cohesive and the touchpoints he focused on - inclusion, gender fluidity, sustainability, the metaverse - created a hype but were seen as genuine and he was backed by management. Michele probably felt he didn't want to betray the trust his community had in him and that it made sense to end this venture with Gucci.
>A Milan-based luxury consultant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, believes that the 2019 exit of Jacopo Venturini, former executive vice president, merchandising and markets of Gucci, who is chief executive of Valentino, may have been prompted by his own efforts to tone down Michele's conceptual designs and focus on luxury , unlike the creator.
"Ironically, if the client doesn't quite understand how to enter the designer's fantasy, fantasy world, but is engaged and excited by all the hype around the brand, plus commercial items with less sophisticated content but more visual impact become hot tickets," the consultant said. "At Gucci, there was a disconnect between the market and the intellectual concept of Alessandro's brand. I think Gucci is reassessing its positioning now. After all, François-Henri Pinault [President and CEO of Gucci Kering's parent company], sees the results at Bottega Veneta, for example, where a new injection of creativity [by creative director Matthieu Blazy] continues to bring results. on-brand - despite the hefty price tags. So he must be thinking, why not at Gucci too?"
Another source told WWD that Pinault is considering a change of pace for the band's star brand and "was trying to reclaim the ultra-luxury consumer. This is exactly the strategy the luxury titan would have wanted at Bottega Veneta. Despite immense success with on-trend products designed by creative director Daniel Lee, the brand had lost some of its its luxurious look, one of the reasons that led to Lee's abrupt departure.
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