Alessandro Michele’s Potential Return to Fashion – WWD

MILAN — After his exit from Gucci in November 2022 as creative director, Alessandro Michele’s potential future in fashion was the subject of endless speculation and rumors for basically all of last year.

The talk grew louder during the Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, when gossipmongers were positive Michele would land at Fendi, saying a release would be issued during the Gucci show last September (the same day as the debut of his successor, Sabato De Sarno), and then after the Fendi show that month — but a confirmation never materialized.

Another rampant rumor had Michele landing at Bulgari, perhaps fanned by the generally accepted assumption that he wishes to continue to live in Rome, home to both Fendi and Bulgari. But the latter deal has not come to fruition either.

When in December WWD reported that Matthew Williams was parting ways with Givenchy, effective Jan. 1, it did not take long for onlookers to suggest Michele would be the successor at that French brand.

What links Fendi, Bulgari and Givenchy is that they are all under the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton umbrella, and it has been easily assumed Michele would turn to Gucci parent Kering’s rival for his next step — someone even daring to associate him with Dior, despite the fact that Maria Grazia Chiuri appears to be safely positioned at the helm of that French brand.

The rumors were not restricted to LVMH, though, as the gossip mill also had the designer joining Chanel and, for a brief moment, the Kering-owned Alexander McQueen, following the exit of Sarah Burton last September.

Perhaps most surprising was speculation that Michele was headed to Walter Albini as Bidayat revealed last year it had acquired the intellectual property and substantial part of the archives of Albini, planning to revive the brand. Bidayat is controlled by Alsara Investment Group, which was founded by Rachid Mohamed Rachid. That speculation, however, has fizzled out, leaving onlookers to wait and see if the new year will bring some clarity — also given that Michele’s non-compete agreement with Gucci should be over in 2024.

But the success of Gucci wasn’t only due to Michele’s designs — as he formed a dynamic duo with then-president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri, who exited the company last September. Observers are now eyeing the potential return of Bizzarri, who named Michele to the top creative post in 2015.

For sure, 2024 will see the debut of a number of designers at storied brands. Matteo Tamburini joined Tod’s as its new creative director, in charge of both the women’s and men’s collections. His first collection for Tod’s will be for women’s and for fall 2024, to be presented as part of Milan Fashion Week in February. He arrives at Tod’s from Bottega Veneta, which he joined in 2017.

He succeeded Walter Chiapponi, who exited Tod’s in September and is now creative director of Blumarine. Chiapponi’s first Blumarine collection will also bow in February in Milan. Blumarine was previously designed by Nicola Brognano, who parted ways with the brand after four years in October.

Both Tamburini and Chiapponi worked at Bottega Veneta with former creative director Tomas Maier.

In November, the industry was left shaken by the death of Davide Renne, newly named creative director of Moschino, at age 46. Hailing from Gucci, Renne started working at Moschino on Nov. 1, and his first collection was to debut for fall 2024 in February during Milan Fashion Week. He succeeded Jeremy Scott, who exited the brand last March after a 10-year tenure.

Renne designed women’s collections for two decades at Gucci, eventually becoming head designer of womenswear, and at Moschino, he was due to oversee women’s, men’s and accessories collections.

Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of parent company Aeffe, is looking for a successor, but it is understood Moschino’s women’s show in February will be presented by the in-house team and that the collection will be based on Renne’s initial ideas for the brand.