Dario Vitale Departs as Creative Director of Versace Following Prada Acquisition

The esteemed Italian fashion house Versace has officially confirmed the departure of its Creative Director, Dario Vitale. His exit is slated for December 12, 2025. This announcement arrives swiftly, coming just two days after the Prada Group finalized its major acquisition of the luxury brand from its previous owner, Capri Holdings.

The transaction that brought Versace under the Prada umbrella, initially disclosed back in April, reached its official closing date on December 2, 2025. This acquisition represented a monumental deal for Prada, valued at approximately 1.375 billion US dollars in cash. It stands as the single largest transaction in the 112-year history of the Prada Group. For Capri Holdings, which had overseen Versace since 2018, the influx of capital is earmarked to substantially reduce a significant portion of its outstanding debt obligations.

Vitale’s tenure at the helm of Versace’s creative vision proved relatively brief. He held the position for under nine months, having been appointed in March 2025. His hiring marked a significant shift, as Vitale was the first Creative Director not directly affiliated with the Versace family following Donatella Versace’s transition to the role of Global Brand Ambassador. Donatella is, of course, the sister of the brand’s founder.

Vitale’s inaugural collection, the Spring/Summer 2026 line, debuted in September during Milan Fashion Week. The collection garnered generally positive reception from critics. Reviewers highlighted his successful efforts to reinterpret the house’s core codes, notably by weaving in iconic motifs from Gianni Versace’s archives alongside the sharper aesthetics associated with the Versus Versace silhouettes.

Industry observers are widely interpreting Vitale’s departure as a direct consequence of the restructuring objectives set forth by the new ownership. Since Vitale was brought on board under the previous management structure at Capri Holdings, a change in leadership following an acquisition is often the natural order of business, though perhaps sooner than anticipated.

During this interim period, the responsibility for overseeing the design studio has been temporarily assigned to Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ginzburg. Versace extended its formal gratitude to Dario Vitale for his crucial contributions in shaping the creative strategy during this transitional phase. The fashion house indicated that the search for a permanent successor to lead the creative direction is expected to conclude shortly, with an announcement anticipated in the near future.