Dario Vitale Is Exiting Versace After Only One Season

On December 4, news broke that Versace and its first-ever non-blood relative to lead the brand, Dario Vitale, were parting ways after only one season at the helm. Vitale took over for Donatella Versace once it was announced that she was stepping down from her role at the family run label on March 13 of this year (she still remains the chief brand ambassador). This just in after Prada Group acquired Versace in a whopping 1.3 billion Euro sale. But wait, there’s more: Ironically, Vitale had previously worked for the group as the former design director of Miu Miu for nearly 15 years. Artistic differences perhaps? The creative director will officially exit the house on December 12 and there has been no word on who will succeed him.

"We would like to sincerely thank Dario for his outstanding contribution to the development of the brand’s creative strategy during this transition period, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavors," Versace said in a statement. And while his tenure was short lived, it was still impactful. During Milan Fashion Week in September, Vitale showed a Spring/Summer 2026 ready-to-wear collection featuring 75 runway looks. His overall vision for the season was to bring back the Versace’s golden era established by its late founder Gianni Versace. Using color blocking and references to its core DNA, the collection was generally well received.

“Friends, rivals, hook-ups, spouses. Tailoring, négligée, denim, leather, and printed shirting rooted in the Versace archive. Rearticulated, designed for a full life; their details reflecting a contemporary reality,” said the show notes. His execution was a modern, fun, wearable love letter to Versace’s late-1980s heyday.

Prada Group said that Vitale’s successor will be “announced in due course.” Which means another designer shake up is in the works. Who will it be this time? In the meantime...thank you, Dario.