Dario Vitale is exiting Versace, effective Dec. 12, in a move the company described as a “mutual decision” under new owner Prada Group.

Future creative direction will be announced in due course. In the meantime, the design team will operate under the guidance of Versace CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger, the company said.

The news comes just two days after Prada’s acquisition of Versace closed.

The move sees Prada Group and its controlling shareholders, the Prada-Bertelli clan, sticking to their initial vision: Vitale was never their pick for the brand, having been hired under previous owner Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings. A warm industry reception for his debut runway show did little to sway them.

Vitale previously worked closely with Miuccia Prada as design director of Miu Miu. His exit in late 2024 created an unwelcome hiccup for Miu Miu, which has powered growth for Prada Group in recent years and was already digesting the succession of Mrs. Prada’s longtime deputy Fabio Zambernardi.

More importantly, Prada’s leadership seemed unconvinced that he was ready to jump from a behind-the-scenes role to a highly visible creative directorship, or that his taste was a match for their €1.25 billion acquisition. In multiple investor calls and public appearances, CEO Andrea Guerra sidestepped questions about whether the company’s leaders were eager to reunite with Vitale at the helm of Versace.

Lorenzo Bertelli — Mrs. Prada’s son who spearheaded the Versace deal and is poised to be named executive chairman of the brand — has emphasised that the new acquisition is “highly complementary” and that its customer base has little overlap with the group’s existing brands. With the layered-on styling and subversive take on sexiness at his debut show, Vitale may have been fishing in Miu Miu’s waters.

It’s unclear how soon Prada Group will announce Versace’s next steps. The company has had time to approach candidates for a creative director of its own choosing: Sources say the decision not to continue with Vitale was made months ago.

Prada is likely seeking a more experienced creative director to reposition the brand, having been burned by M&A before — the group struggled to integrate Helmut Lang and Jil Sander in the early 2000s, and doesn’t want a repeat.

The group may opt for someone with a more straightforward take on sexiness and feminine glamour, whose aesthetic wouldn’t risk cannibalising its two main brands — sleek, cerebral Prada and playful, twisted Miu Miu.

Then there’s the question of Donatella Versace, and whether her current role of chief brand ambassador might evolve. It seems unlikely that Prada Group would go back to having Ms. Versace sign all of the brand’s collections herself, essentially undoing her succession. But the co-creative director configuration of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons has worked well for the group’s biggest brand, and could be pointed to as an argument for some form of a return.

Additional reporting by Eric Sylvers and Vikram Alexei Kansara