A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER

The recent A.I. memes depicting Versace creative director Dario Vitale being shoved out of a window by Miuccia Prada and Donatella Versace were disturbing on a lot of levels—but mostly because they didn’t veer too far from the truth, metaphorically speaking. Indeed, Vitale’s defenestration as the short-lived creative director of Versace, which was recently acquired by the Prada Group, was only half-unexpected. In many ways, Vitale was the victim of circumstance and bad luck. Late last year, Vitale had elected to leave Miu Miu, which frustrated Mrs. Prada, only to take a bet on himself at Versace, an appointment that naturally alienated Donatella—who happens to be her longtime friend. Perhaps the fix was in all along. Anyway, now Dario is famous, too.

There’s a lot of speculation about what actually happened to elicit such a swift and definitive axing, and much of it reduces the world’s two most famous living fashion designers to petty teenagers blowing bubble gum while writing in their burn books. But the situation is obviously more complicated and nuanced—and longitudinal. In fact, it really started with Capri’s botched $2.1 billion acquisition of Versace back in 2018.

At the time, American fashion companies were feverishly trying to scale up to replicate the European model. Capri C.E.O. John Idol promised Versace that he was going to move the entire conglomerate, including Michael Kors, upmarket, and start building an American version of LVMH. No one actually believed that he would be able to accomplish that goal, but the industry was at least reassured that he would be aiming to preserve the elite positioning of the most famous fashion brand in the world this side of Chanel.

Instead, Versace sort of languished, and not simply because Idol didn’t know how to manage and scale the business. First, there were the succession challenges: Donatella, who took over for her brother after his assassination in the late 1990s, wanted a staged transition similar to the choreography that Miuccia and Raf Simons agreed to at Prada. By the pandemic, though, the company had gone through a series of executive changes, and recruiting top talent became harder as budgets shrank and luxury ambitions waned. Then the Tapestry deal to buy Capri was put into motion in 2023, and things were stalled further. There was no way for Versace C.E.O. Emmanuel Gintzburger, who had only arrived a year prior, to implement any long-term strategy during that period.

Vitale officially exited Miu Miu in December 2024, less than a month after the Tapestry deal finally collapsed over specious antitrust concerns. After interviewing for multiple jobs over the course of 2023 and 2024, there had been rampant speculation that he was loose in the saddle: Vitale, who had played an integral role in the blockbuster reimagination of Miu Miu, was understandably looking for a front-facing creative director role.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER

He was incredibly confident, ambitious, and ready to take on his own project. And Versace, on paper, seemed like the perfect gig: Donatella herself liked Vitale, and, as we would come to find out, he had plans to interpret the brand in a fresh way. But according to multiple sources familiar with the dynamic, Miuccia was not pleased when he eventually tendered his resignation from the Prada Group. Only two people know for sure why she was disappointed, but you could make generalizations and say that extreme loyalty is valued in this type of family-controlled company—one where voluntary high-level exits are rare.

What no one knew at the time of his resignation was that the Prada Group was already at work rescuing Donatella’s family heirloom out of the pseudo-luxury segment in the wake of the failed Tapestry deal. In a meeting regarding Vitale’s departure, according to multiple sources familiar with the conversation, Miuccia told him that the Prada Group planned to acquire Versace and that she would promptly fire him if he took the job. After all, the Prada Group had already decided who would be the new creative director if they were to complete the acquisition of the business, according to a source with direct knowledge of the conversations.

He took it anyway, I assume comforted by Capri: After all, the news that the Prada Group was looking to potentially bid on Versace didn’t surface until a month later, in January 2025. Perhaps the tensions would fade, and he could go back to Prada and beg for his old job. Or the deal might fail to come to fruition, as often happens. Either way, this was undeniably his big chance, and Gintzburger was motivated to make it work: He clearly saw what he had with Vitale, and he was going to have to prove out his strategy in less than a year if he wanted to keep his own job.

All that helps explain how Vitale ended up staging the runway show back in September, despite this looming understanding that he—or any of Versace’s top executives—may not have a job once the deal closed. And yet Vitale, undeterred, exceeded all expectations: His collection was met with awe by the industry and consumers alike. Even many private clients, who everyone assumed would be turned off by Vitale’s 180-degree turn from Donatella’s P.O.V., were charmed, with sales up season over season. After the show, Donatella herself, who had been, by many accounts, unfairly treated by Gintzburger, even posted a photo congratulating Vitale as a public olive branch. It turned out to be a head fake.

Everyone thought everyone would kiss and make up, and it seems that Vitale thought so too, according to people familiar with his thinking. After the deal closed, he met with both Miuccia and her son, Lorenzo, who will now join Versace’s executive team, according to a source close to the business. (A rep for Prada had no comment on this.) Then, poof, it happened anyway.

Perhaps the Prada Group’s succession plan, which was decided long before Vitale even started at Versace, makes more business sense. The argument for firing Vitale is that his work is actually too close in concept to Miu Miu, and it could cannibalize that business. (Although Miu Miu has evolved, quite notably, since his exit.) There’s also the Donatella factor: Whether Versace’s new owners plan to enact a Miuccia-Raf–style partnership or engage her more as a brand ambassador, Donatella is valuable on account of her wide social media reach (12 million Instagram followers) and unmatched understanding of the house. (Her daughter, Allegra, still works at the company, also.) Whether they’ll announce the succession plan quickly, or wait until the inevitable executive team changes shake out, who knows? Until then, the industry will continue to speculate and offer conspiracy theories and memes.

As for what happens to Vitale? This isn’t a Sabato De Sarno situation. He surely got a great payout—he had a standard contract, which means at least three years—and can take some time off. In sports parlance, he’s now a free agent, and will be in demand. LVMH would be smart to just put him on retainer. There are jobs that are about to become open: Of all the debuts we saw last fall, not everyone will stick.

R.I.P. Martin Parr, a great photographer. [Look at These, These, This, and This]

R.I.P. Frank Gehry, an important architect, yes, but also a “cranky,” “loveable” guy. [Wallpaper]

If you’re at all interested in the fact that Netflix is (potentially) buying Warner Bros., this podcast is so fun. Puck’s very own Matt Belloni and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw game out all the possible scenarios, which I love doing when deals happen in our biz, too. [The Town]

The press trip adjacent to the Brunello Cucinelli documentary premiere in Rome looked epic and wild and I hope someone shares an honest account. (I bet it would be 99 percent flattering anyway, but people live in fear!) [Vanity Fair]

There were also parties on Friday. I hit up Mel Ottenberg’s super classy Interview holiday get-together at the Edition in Midtown, where I got to meet Naomi Fry’s husband and awkwardly say hi to David Haskell. Then I went to the Hanover party at TIWA downtown. Sara Moonves was the best person there. For some reason, Matt Dillon was also there. Someday someone will explain that to me! [Interview and Inbox]

As the editors of Line Sheet can attest, I am pro em dash! [Air Mail]

I loved Bella Freud’s interview with Annie Leibovitz—she talks about magazines, clothes, John and Yoko, Susan Sontag, and so many other things. Bella is very good. [Fashion Neurosis]

Until tomorrow,
Lauren

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