MIU MIU CHANGES: Miu Miu has been on an upward trajectory and its team has caught the attention of head hunters and international brands alike.
In yet another change at Miu Miu, sources told WWD that design director Dario Vitale communicated his exit from the brand to his team on Friday evening. He is said to be leaving at the end of January.
Vitale worked for years with Fabio Zambernardi, who left the company in October last year after more than four decades working closely with Miuccia Prada.
In September, WWD revealed that Miu Miu’s chief executive officer Benedetta Petruzzo was exiting the brand to join Christian Dior Couture as managing director, succeeding Charles Delapalme. Petruzzo’s successor at the Milan-based fashion house has yet to be named.
Sources had been speculating about a possible exit of Vitale for weeks and chances are the holidays are not expected to stop the fashion rumor mill. Given the current creative upheaval and instability, his name has already been associated with several brands in Milan, from Bottega Veneta to Gucci, although it does not appear he is headed to either company, according to sources.
Miu Miu’s recent growth has been explosive, with retail revenues soaring 97 percent in the first nine months of the year to 854 million euros. The brand now accounts for 25 percent of Prada Group’s total sales, and it showed an acceleration in the third quarter as revenues in that period jumped 105 percent. As reported, Miu Miu once again returned to be ranked the hottest brand in the world in the third quarter, according to shopping platform Lyst.
