GUCCI’s creative director Frida Giannini and CEO Patrizio di Marco have both stepped down. Marco Bizzarri has been appointed CEO of the Italian label, Kering announced today.
The Gucci duo – who are also a couple in real life, and have one child together, daughter Greta – will leave early in the new year. Di Marco departs on January 1, while Giannini will leave at the end of February 2015, after showing her autumn/winter 2015 collection at Milan Fashion Week. A new creative director will be appointed "later on", the brand said.
Di Marco joined Kering 13 years ago as the CEO of Bottega Veneta before moving to Gucci in 2008. Giannini joined the group 12 years ago, when she left Fendi for Gucci, moving through the ranks of the brand under Tom Ford.
"I truly enjoyed working with Patrizio over those years," François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering, said today. "The great performances achieved by the Gucci brand during his tenure stand as a testament to his success. His strategic vision, passion, dedication and charisma were key to bring Gucci where it is today. I want to warmly thank him and wish him the very best in his future endeavours."
"I would like to thank Frida for her extraordinary passion, dedication and contribution to the Gucci brand," Pinault went on. "She has been the sole creative director of Gucci for close to a decade. This is a remarkable accomplishment, considering the level and breadth of responsibility of overviewing all the aspects related to product and image for such a global brand during such a long period of time. I am truly grateful to her for her achievements, creativity and the passion that she has always instilled in her work."
New CEO Marco Bizzarri is also a Kering stalwart, having joined Stella McCartney in 2005 before moving to Bottega Veneta in 2009.
"Giannini has also been instrumental in repositioning the universe of Gucci beyond design, developing the architectural and interior environments for Gucci’s store concept and conceiving the Gucci Museo in Florence," the brand said in a statement today. She also pioneered Gucci’s recent philanthropic ventures, including Chime for Change.