Alessandro Michele: will the future of the former Gucci creative be at Fendi?

Ever since Alessandro Michele stepped down as creative director of Gucci in November 2022, speculation about his future has been mounting. Everyone is wondering what his next job will be and at which brand he will end up with his maximalist and eccentric style full of references and inspirations from art, philosophy, cinema and pop culture. Insiders, fashion fans and probably even your uncle keep mentioning names of more or less important maisons where they believe Michele, reading unlikely hints in his Instagram posts or coffee grounds, could soon end up there to propose new fashion again.

Will Michele replace Jones at Fendi?

Fendi's fashion show has reignited speculation about Alessandro Michele's future. On the first day of MFW, the award for the most star-studded Front Row went to the Roman house. Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Demi Moore, Gwendoline Christie, Christina Ricci and Naomi Watts came to town to admire the collection designed by friend Kim Jones. The large number of celebrities and the enthusiasm and participation shown by Demi, Kate and the others as the models took turns on the catwalk led to rumours that this was Jones' farewell show. According to the rumours, the designer was about to leave the creative direction of Fendi, leaving the post open for Michele, who had already worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi for accessories between the late 1990s and 2002. The timing would be perfect and in line with the non-compete agreement with Kering, which apparently prevented him from working for others for at least a year after leaving Gucci. 

Will he prefer Bulgari or Walter Albini?

We only have to go back a few months, to last April, to find another possible target. Some insiders swore that Michele was in talks with investment firm Bidayat, which has acquired Walter Albini's archive, to revive the brand in the luxury sector worldwide. The combination seems like a winner, but perhaps the Roman designer has other plans and prefers Bulgari. Another choice seems to match Michele's aesthetic and passion for jewellery, which he inherited from his grandmother and then turned into a real collecting field. But this is always conjecture, not backed up by facts.

Will he pack his bags and go to France?

A whole group of people are convinced his next destination is France. The Roman designer is expected to pack his bags for Paris to head one of the biggest luxury companies. This theory was also supported this week by Bryanboy, who tweeted: "First person to guess which French brand Alessandro Michele is moving to gets a cookie!". Under the tweet, commenters were divided between Balenciaga, who predicted an imminent departure of Demna, Lanvin, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel. The latter two Maisons are among the most quoted, although there are no real reasons and no rumours of Maria Grazia Chiuri or Virginie Viard being fired. The speculation is merely based on the personal taste and hopes of the author, who finds the style presented by the two creative directors unsatisfactory or cool and sees Michele as a more interesting option. At one point there was even talk of Bulgari, as the Roman creative has a passion for jewellery, but this is just conjecture unsupported by fact.

No, he will be the new creative director of Moschino

Could he take Jeremy Scott's place at Moschino? Reading between the lines of the post with which Scott shared his decision, it is clear that a new job is already waiting for him. The position vacated by the Italian brand seems perfect for some to house the creative flair of the former Gucci. However, his name does not seem to be one of the top candidates for the role at the moment, coming much later than, say, Richard Quinn's or Charles Jeffrey Loverboy's. There are those who see in the umpteenth departure of a creative director with an eccentric and maximalist style a desire on the part of the big brands to move away from theatricality and towards "timelessness"," towards a more minimalist, perhaps conventional, but certainly more direct and versatile fashion. It makes you wonder if there is still a place for the personality and unique creations of Alessandro Michele. We hope there is. Wherever he goes, we hope to see new work from him soon.