Genius Alessandro Michele Leaves Gucci

Alessandro Michele, one of the most esteemed names in the fashion world and, officially, the most profitable creative director of the Gucci brand, has decided to leave his position due to ‘differences in perspectives’. Unofficially, the heads of the parent company Kering were displeased that Gucci was stagnating, especially after the pandemic year of 2020, and they asked Michele to make a creative turnaround; to offer more wearable, classic pieces with a focus on quality craftsmanship.

The creative did not want to compromise his style, adapting his vision to one that, according to financial directors, brings in more dollars, so he decided to pack his bags and leave the company where he had spent a full twenty years, the last eight as creative director.

The outcome of this story has shocked the fashion world and raised a series of questions such as where is the line between art and creativity that is solely subordinated to profit (because Gucci is not Shein, which measures success almost in kilograms of sold goods), but also why such an ultimatum was given specifically to Michele, the man who revived Gucci from the dead and brought them a billion dollars in profit every year. It is also worth mentioning that the company’s sales have not fallen but stagnated, influenced by a number of factors that do not necessarily relate to the quality of Michele’s creations. Is it a matter of greed or has the audience truly grown tired of Michele?

Innovator of Gucci

Most expert media agree that it is the former. Namely, Alessandro Michele was once hired by Tom Ford, and then worked as a designer in the accessories segment while Gucci’s creative helm was in the hands of Frida Giannini.

After she left the company in 2015, Gucci’s CEO Marco Bizzarri (who, by the way, has also left the brand) hired him as creative director. Michele has currently brought a breath of fresh air to the brand, and although the first collection was criticized, sales results showed that with his eclectic style, wealth of colors, textures, and unusual combinations, a fusion of new and vintage, he managed to attract the fashion ‘golden goose’ – the younger generation of consumers.

With each subsequent collection, Michele managed to keep the audience’s attention, intrigue, and surprise; his creativity knew no bounds.

Thus, in the spring of 2018, highlights the portal HypeBeast, he thrilled with the ‘Utopian Fantasy’ campaign in which he reinterprets famous works of art, and for the fall 2018 collection, he sent models to walk the runway holding their own heads. Of course, these were the heads of mannequins, which took six months to create to fully resemble the heads of the models.

No Compromise

Throughout the seasons, Michele carefully nurtured the idea of the Gucci family and included new members like stars Jared Leto, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles in collaborations. He was quite adept with the latter, knowing how to choose the right partners and create exceptional collections with them. For example, customers were delighted by the collaboration with Balenciaga, as well as the recent one with Adidas. Within the Gucci Vault, he ‘refreshed’ the design of the iconic Dapper Dan and approached the street, ‘Harlem’ subculture.

However, Michele’s innovativeness, his ability to offer something new each season, was not enough for the heads at Kering who asked him, as reported by the portal WWD, to transform the Gucci brand.

Although the company did not comment on these claims or provide reasons for the termination of the collaboration, Michele addressed his followers on Instagram: ‘Continue to nurture your dreams, the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living. Keep feeding on poetic and inclusive images, remaining true to your values. Always live according to your passions, driven by the wind of freedom.’