It’s been a roller coaster of a year for Dario Vitale. Twelve months ago, in September 2025, Vitale presented his first collection as the newly minted chief creative officer of Versace. Less than three months later, despite the collection’s enthusiastic reception (“Am I a Versace Guy Now?” posed Samuel Hine in his laudatory review for GQ), he was out. Today, Armani announced Vitale’s new role leading menswear and womenswear at Emporio Armani, and designing accessories for Emporio and Giorgio Armani.
Creative directors at the world’s most famous fashion houses come and go with the frequency of White House staff these days, but the decision to hire Vitale isn’t just the latest move in the fashion industry’s ongoing game of musical chairs. Following founder Giorgio Armani’s death at age 91 last year, Vitale is now the first person outside the designer’s immediate family to hold a creative director role at the company.
The move makes sense. Vitale is best known for helping to revitalize Miu Miu, growing the Prada-owned brand into a billion-dollar business during his 15-year tenure. His single collection at Versace, where he took over from Donatella Versace (who in turn took over from founder Gianni Versace following his 1997 murder), showed similar promise, earning near-universal praise for Vitale and building excitement around a brand that had lost some of its luster in recent years. While no official reason was given for Vitale’s subsequent sacking, because it followed the Prada Group’s purchase of Versace the previous spring, some speculated it had as much to do with corporate politics as creative direction.
Emporio Armani, the youth-oriented lifestyle brand founded by Mr. Armani in 1981, finds itself in a similar position, with a massive archive and a respected name but little in the way of contemporary heat. As mainline Armani’s popularity continues to surge amid the ongoing ‘90s revival, Emporio has massive potential to stage a comeback of its own with Vitale at the wheel.
The timing is also significant. Giorgio Armani’s will stipulated that his heirs, led by the maestro’s former life-and-business partner, 73-year-old Pantaléo Dell’Orco, must sell up to 45 percent of the company within five years of his death, or make an initial public offering. Vitale’s creative talents, and whatever excitement he manages to build around Emporio Armani will only sweeten the deal. Versace’s loss might be Armani’s gain.
