Fashionistas on the front row will not see Frida Giannini one last time at Milan Fashion Week this spring, as it emerges that the Gucci designer has left the company early.
In December last year it was reported, in a rather measured and controlled release, that Gucci‘s Creative Director Frida Giannini, would be leaving the Italian fashion house some time at the end of February 2015, after the label‘s AW15 fashion week in Milan. On Monday of this week however, it was confirmed that Giannini is no longer with the company (read: the end of an era).
Giannini has exited luxury label before the collection‘s debut and its menswear show scheduled for Jan 19, although a statement released by Gucci highlights that the show(s) must go on, and will take place as originally planned “thanks to Gucci‘s talented and dedicated men‘s and women‘s design teams.”
Marc Bizzarri, Gucci‘s newly appointed CEO, stepped into his position at the beginning of this month and it is being assumed he will be the catalyst for Giannini‘s earlier-than-expected departure. According to sources at Womenswear Daily, Giannini was asked to leave immediately so that the business could focus on its new creative direction straight away.
“I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding contribution that Frida Giannini has made to Gucci‘s legacy during her nine year tenure as creative director,” said Bizzarri.
The news makes Gucci‘s search for a successive creative director pressing. In addition to rumored contenders Riccardo Tisci, Joseph Altuzarra, Hedi Slimane, Christopher Kane, Peter Dundas and Christophe Lemaire, there are murmurs that Gucci‘s current Head Accessories Designer, Alessandro Michele, is also in the pipeline. This could be likely as Giannini was previously a handbag designer for Gucci and made her way up to the creative director chair. Alternatively, Michele could step in as interim Creative Director, until a permanent placement is made.
