Versace designer makes shock exit despite stellar debut

By Rachel Tashjian, CNN

(CNN) — Is there still room in fashion for true originality?

That’s the question raised by the latest news out of Milan: Versace designer Dario Vitale, the recently installed creative head who showed a surprisingly well-received collection in Milan in September, is departing the brand.

“Versace and its Chief Creative Officer, Dario Vitale, have mutually agreed to part ways effective from December 12th, 2025,” the brand said in a statement. “We would like to sincerely thank Dario for his outstanding contribution to the development of the brand’s creative strategy during this transition period, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavors.”

The news comes just two days after Prada Group closed a deal to acquire Versace for $1.44 billion. That deal, announced in April, one month after Vitale was appointed, led to industry speculation as to whether the designer would continue in his role. You don’t spend a cool billion on a fashion brand just to uphold the status quo.

The statement on Vitale’s departure was signed by new executive chairman Lorenzo Bertelli, the son of Prada executive director and co-creative director Miuccia Prada and Prada chief executive Patrizio Bertelli. Lorenzo Bertelli continues in his positions as chief marketing officer and head of corporate social responsibility at Prada.

Vitale, a forty-something Italian who for 15 years worked for Prada’s fantastical-lady-gone-geeky label Miu Miu, was not the most anticipated arrival in last season’s slate of buzzy debuts – but that is exactly what made his show thrilling. Yes, many of his looks were wacky and tacky, like cocktail dresses that were tucked into underwear to reveal models’ butts, or nipple-baring too-tight tank tops with ab-revealing low-slung sleeve holes. But the fashion world is overloaded with brands continuing to capitalize on the quiet luxury trend with Philophile-lite silhouettes (or designs based on the now decade-plus-old language of Phoebe Philo), pushing consumers towards a vision of safe, conservative respectability. Vitale’s show, with its youthful casting and racy styling, was a rare cry of sincere, skillfully made bad taste – another kind of beauty.

The collection also managed to generate conversation and positive reviews without the industry infrastructure — like a glowing magazine profile or a splashy rollout of tantalizing marketing images on social media before the show — that typically brings about such acclaim.

It was the first Versace collection in the brand’s 47-year history that was not designed by the late Gianni Versace, who died in 1997, or Donatella Versace, who succeeded her brother and designed the label until she departed in March, shortly before Vitale joined. But it had Gianni Versace’s humanist sleaze: an assertion that people who are a little corny, very shameless and super kitschy deserve to be as exalted as those who appreciate beige cashmere sweaters and well-cut trousers.

Neither Miuccia Prada nor Donatella Versace attended Vitale’s show. A representative for Versace said that “Donatella’s intention was to give Dario his space for the debut.” Prada did not respond to a request for comment.

The fashion industry, which is ever more obsessive about growth as the focus narrows to just a few key, conglomerate-run players, is generally running the risk of pushing aside creative ingenuity. Can a designer click with consumers and editors without the big glossy push of marketing? Can a designer who doesn’t make “good taste” luxury clothes, or makes something outrageous without the imprimatur of a well-known logo, find success and security?

But Prada CEO Andrea Guerra indicated at a Business of Fashion event late last month that Prada was not eager to rock the boat at Versace. “Especially at the beginning, stability is a very important word,” Guerra said. “And this is what we are going to do. We are going to care about everyone working in Versace. And we are going to care about everything that is happening in Versace. The only thing I don’t want to happen is I don’t want to kill the patient while we cure it.”

Rarely do designers depart after a single collection, unless their first show receives particularly disastrous reviews. But the chemistry may simply have been wrong, as Bertelli’s statement that they have “mutually agreed to part ways” suggests.

Prada is known in the industry as the vanguard of challenging and creative designs, as is Miu Miu. Lorenzo Bertelli’s memo said that a new creative director “will be announced in due course.” Let’s hope they know how to shock.

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