As of this morning, both CEO Patrizio di Marco and his wife, creative director Frida Giannini, have stepped down from their positions at Gucci. Ending their roles on January 1 and February 25 respectively, the two will be taking their leave after a combined 18 years at the brand, leaving the Italian house in a precarious position due to recently declining sales numbers. Likened to when Tom Ford left the brand with Domenico De Sole in 2003, the announcement has left Gucci's parent company Kering scrambling to find two major replacements by the beginning of next year. Marco Bizzarri will succeed di Marco, and rumors suggest that the conglomerate is looking into tapping Riccardo Tisci, creative director of Givenchy, to helm the brand. “We never comment on rumors,” a Kering spokeswoman said. “All I can say is the recruitment is under way.” Joseph Altuzarra is another consideration—Kering bought a minority stake in his brand last year and the designer has close ties with the Italian house.
Giannini has been at the company for 12 years, heading not only ready-to wear, but debuting the brand’s haute couture collection, premiering a children’s line and launching Gucci cosmetics. She also partnered the brand with UNICEF to establish Chime for Change and starred in James Franco’s 2013 Gucci documentary. “I would like to thank Frida for her extraordinary passion, dedication and contribution,” said Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering. “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.” Giannini’s last collection for Gucci will be shown February 2015.
