The future of Gucci without creative director Alessandro Michele was top of mind for most industry observers during the month of December, after his sudden departure from the brand a month earlier.
His exit was even more surprising given that Gucci on Jan. 13 is returning to the menswear runway — after several coed shows and different formats introduced by Michele — and no successor to him has been named. The men’s fall 2023 collection is to be presented by the in-house team. This choice has led to speculation that the split was triggered by the acceleration of tensions behind closed doors, leaving no wiggle room to buy time.
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Sources believe the succession plan will not be revealed in the short-term. Gucci may be waiting for a high-profile designer — whose hands could perhaps be tied by a non-compete agreement — or the company could be looking at an internal promotion, which is not a new path at parent company Kering, or Gucci itself.
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In-house names that circulated after Michele’s exit were those of Remo Macco, a Gucci veteran who was recently appointed studio design director; Davide Renne, also a longtime Gucci designer, and Marco Maria Lombardi, a member of Gucci’s design studio. As for established designers, basically everyone’s name has been tossed in the hat, from Maria Grazia Chiuri and Riccardo Tisci to Daniel Roseberry, now at Schiaparelli.
Michele’s own next steps have also been under the microscope, although the gossip chatter repeatedly associates his name with that of Chanel — despite repeated denials by the French brand, which continues to support its creative director Virginie Viard. Sources also contend Michele intends to continue to live in Rome for personal reasons and that he could perhaps be tempted by the film industry after the experience of directing videos for Gucci during the pandemic.
On top of all this, another persistent rumor here that won’t go away is mounting speculation over C-suite changes at Gucci.
Sources in Milan wonder if president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri could be headed to a top role within Kering and be succeeded by Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini. If that were to be true, it would make sense for Bellettini to be the one to reveal the new creative director. Incidentally, as reported, she appeared at the Bain & Co. and Altagamma conference in Milan in November — a first for Bellettini, who has not attended any event in the city in recent memory.
As for Bizzarri, who is also a member of the executive committee of Kering, speculation about possible future roles within or outside the fashion industry has emerged from time to time and in February 2021, he firmly shut down rumors that he was headed to Ferrari as CEO.
In November that year, he bought a stake in Orienta Capital Partners, which specializes in investments in small- and medium-sized companies with strong growth potential. Details about the stake were undisclosed, but Bizzarri became a partner and a member of the advisory board of the company. This — in addition to his diversified initiatives in sustainability or the food business, where he partnered with his childhood friend, chef Massimo Bottura, to buy the restaurant Dalla Gioconda in Gabicce, in central Italy — has helped fueled speculation about other potential ventures for Bizzarri.
Whatever the plan at Gucci and whoever the company chooses to appoint to the top creative role, analysts are watching and expecting yet another successful rebirth — although the general consensus is that this time it could be more complicated given the successful streak generated by Bizzarri and Michele and the challenging economic and political scenarios around the globe.
It is understood Bizzarri and François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering, urged Michele to initiate a strong design shift, a change of pace and a further elevation of the brand toward a true luxury positioning. Commenting on the group’s third-quarter performance, Pinault touted the strategy of homing in on historic codes, iconic handbags and craftsmanship.
Gucci has grown to reach sales last year of 9.73 billion euros, just shy of its oft-stated goal of 10 billion euros, and the demands on Michele grew exponentially since 2015, when he was appointed. Sources believe Michele was presented with the suggestion of delegating some of his many responsibilities, possibly creating a new design structure with the addition of key individuals, and that this may have triggered a fracture since he is known for his hand-on approach and attention to every detail.
Despite Michele’s successful stint at Gucci, which was driven by his unique aesthetic codes, analysts and observers generally approved of the brand’s decision to kick off a new chapter, believing it will bring new energy, fresh creativity and a business acceleration. All agreed that the brand has enough clout, a strong supply chain, top digital expertise and customer engagement skills to weather the transition.
Kering in October reported that its cash cow Gucci continued to underperform versus the group’s other brands, although organic sales picked up pace in the third quarter. Revenues at the Italian label totaled 2.6 billion euros, up 9 percent on a like-for-like basis, following a 4 percent rise in the second quarter.
That was slightly below a consensus of analyst estimates, which called for a 10 percent increase in comparable sales.