Michele Tag

MILAN — Could a significant change be happening at Gucci? Well-placed sources here say that creative director Alessandro Michele is exiting the brand. A press release is anticipated as early as Wednesday. Gucci didn't reply to repeated requests for comment late Tuesday Milan time. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told WWD that Michele “was asked to initiate a powerful design shift” to light a hearth under the brand, however the designer didn't meet the request. One other source said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Gucci’s parent Kering, is a change of pace for the group’s star brand. This may not be the primary time Pinault has shaken up certainly one of Kering’s key brands. Last November, in...