Alissandro Michele is an Italian fashion designer who most recently served as the creative director of Gucci, the Italian fashion luxury house where he had been working since 2002. Known for his maximalist designs, Alessandro Michele revived Gucci’s popularity most notably with a Geek-Chicaesthetic. He had been responsible for all of Gucci’s collections and global brand imagefrom January 2015 until he stepped down from the role in November 2022. Alessandro Michele grew up in Rome. His father was an Alitalia technician, and his mother an assistant to a movie executive. In the early 1990s, Alessandro Michele completed his studies of fashion design at the Accademia di Costume e di Moda in Rome, where he learned to design both theatrical costumes and fashion wear. Alessandro Michele will leave Gucci after nearly eight years as creative director, the company announced on Wednesday afternoon, after the close of Europe’s business day. The news first broke in a report yesterday in the trade paper WWD. “There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have,” Michele said in a statement. “Today an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than 20 years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion.” (Before being named creative director in 2015, Michele worked behind the scenes at Gucci, dating back the days of Tom Ford, but was little known outside Milan.) Michele expressed his gratitude to the brand, which he called his “home,” and his hope that his adopted family there will “continue to nourish yourselves with poetic and inclusive imagery, remaining faithful to your values.”
