Someone remarked to me recently that the biggest fashion mistake of the last decade was the Gucci–Alessandro Michele breakup. But that’s not quite true: Michele wanted to go, and Kering needed to let him leave as his vision was winding down while the industry changed course from a palette that he had created. The execution of his departure was the real problem. At the time, the Michele machine was stalling, but it wasn’t out of gas altogether, especially in China. Michele could have exited less abruptly on his own terms, and Kering would have waited another year before hiring a replacement.