Hi, and welcome back to Line Sheet. Today was a wild ride. In this very special Inner Circle issue, you’ll learn how the Demna-to-Gucci bombshell went down, become enlightened about Dario Vitale’s Versace appointment, and get smart on the state of Loro Piana as Frédéric Arnault takes charge. Finally, a little ditty on Booth Moore’s departure from WWD. Support actual journalism and sign up for Puck now. It’s just so much better than everything else.
🚨🚨 Programming note: Tomorrow on Fashion People, I’m joined by Interview editor-in-chief and general king Mel Ottenberg to discuss the Fashion Month that was, from Marc Jacobs to Saint Laurent and, of course, Dario-at-Versace and Demna-at-Gucci! (The announcement was released as we were recording, so it’s very dramatic.) Listen here and here.
Mentioned in this issue: Demna, Gucci, Balenciaga, Dario Vitale, Versace, Donatella, Loro Piana, Frédéric Arnault, Sabato De Sarno, Kering, LVMH, Stefano Cantino, Francesca Bellettini, Alessandro Michele, François-Henri Pinault, motorcycle bags, Jonathan Anderson, and many more…
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Three Things You Should Know...
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- Why did Bernard Arnault give his 29-year-old son LVMH’s cushiest job?: There’s much to say about yesterday’s appointment of Frédéric Arnault as C.E.O. of Loro Piana, perhaps the fastest growing brand in the family-controlled conglomerate. When LVMH bought Loro Piana, the business generated something like €700 million in sales, and was better known as a cashmere mill than a producer of labeled products. Twelve years later, sales are up to €2.5 billion, which makes it the third largest fashion brand in the group on a good day. In fact, I’ve been told by multiple sources that Bernard Arnault has directed the team to control growth, Hermès-style, in order to stave off overexposure.
Many executives at LVMH are disappointed that Loro Piana C.E.O. Damien Bertrand, a rising star at the group, is being moved to Louis Vuitton, where he’s reuniting with Pietro Beccari, to accommodate the move. Obviously, the shake-up is yet another manifestation of the family’s succession games. But there’s some frustration about the elevation of Frédéric, whose watch group was down almost 20 percent in 2024 to €1.3 billion. I’ve also been told that Frédéric will work from Milan only part-time. (Honestly, that’s understandable. People are nicer in Milan, but Paris is a better place to live, and it’s closer to the action and to his father.)
Of course, the trouble at the watch group could be a category challenge, and not a reflection of Frédéric’s strategic or operational talents. BA has made clear his regard for Frédéric—the only one of his children to graduate from his alma mater, École Polytechnique—and my guess is that Arnault sees the Loro Piana job as an opportunity for his youngest heir to work closely with Toni Belloni, who is somehow still around despite sort-of retiring ages ago. (He currently oversees Italy for LVMH.)
In the pseudo succession race, Frédéric is now in the lead—especially now that Arnault has moved Fendi’s Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou over to Dior to be daughter Delphine’s deputy C.E.O., and forced his shareholders to allow him to stay in his job till he’s 85, the clearest sign yet that he doesn’t think his middle-aged kids are ready to take over. At some point, I predict that either Beccari or Delphine will run the Fashion Group, which is being overseen in the interim by Sidney Toledano.
As for who will eventually replace BA, if the time ever comes: I wouldn’t count Alexandre—who is currently in charge of fixing the Moët Hennessy mess, which may require cleaning up the business and spinning it off—out. Unlike his younger brother, Alexandre keeps getting real hard jobs. Of course, Dior has not been a walk in the park for Delphine, either. By 2035, though, Bernard Arnault might be immortal.
- Succeeding the successor: Today, Capri-owned Versace officially announced that Dario Vitale, the right hand of Miuccia Prada at Miu Miu, would be joining the brand as its chief creative officer. Designer Donatella Versace, who took over after her brother Gianni was tragically assassinated nearly 30 years ago, was named chief brand ambassador. The press release was dutifully respectful to Donatella, announcing her role change before introducing Vitale. In his statement, Capri C.E.O. John Idol called the succession planning process “thoughtful.” Vitale’s name was first mentioned in Line Sheet months ago.
This all went down, of course, amid intense market speculation that the Prada Group, which owns Miu Miu, is close to buying Versace for around €1.5 billion. Nevertheless, everyone I’ve spoken with has said that the 42-year-old Vitale is not some sort of Trojan horse or deal component. Versace brand executives have been working on a succession plan for years, and Vitale was the top choice among both Donatella and C.E.O. Emmanuel Gintzburger, regardless of what happened with the sale. After all, Vitale is a hot property in Europe, and ready to move into a lead position. Growing up in southern Italy in the 1990s, he was also a Versace obsessive, and, with the right tools, should be poised to give the brand the boom boom it needs to succeed in a highly competitive market where generic merchandise no longer flies.
That should be easier under the watch of the Prada Group, assuming the deal closes. While there are internal disputes over responsibility for Versace’s dwindling sales—some blame market forces, others Gintzburger’s execution or Idol’s ineptitude—Capri is not equipped to operate a pure luxury brand. Even if Gintzburger had nailed Versace’s distribution, merchandising, and positioning, there isn’t an inherent understanding at the group level of what a brand like this needs to succeed.
For now, Vitale and the executive team must move forward as if nothing is changing, even though almost everything will. With these kinds of acquisitions, the executive team is usually replaced. Gintzburger will have to prove that he is still the right person to lead this brand transformation, and Donatella will have to figure out how much she wants to engage with a business that she’ll be associated with for the rest of her life.
- WWD defenestrations: I don’t want to tell Jay Penske how to do his job, but the layoffs at WWD this week, which included veteran fashion journalist and West Coast bureau chief Booth Moore, underscore the sorry state of traditional trades and why the industry doesn’t really need them anymore. In Europe, WWD still matters: I don’t always agree with all the kowtowing to brands, but the reporters generally push as hard as they can while the publication tries to retain advertising commitments from the subjects it covers. Meanwhile, I’ve watched Penske allow chief content officer Jim Fallon to erase any remaining authority the publication had in the U.S. by laying off so many writers and editors with meaningful industry connections. Sure, Bridget Foley should have left 10 years before she was forced out, but that’s easy to say from the outside. Now, he’s done it to Booth.
I’ve said this a million times, but Penske should have hired a youngish leadership team back when he acquired WWD in 2014—I would have recommended Style.com’s Dirk Standen and Nicole Phelps—to clear out the old guard and remake the brand in a way that appealed to industry insiders and fashion fans alike. (I would have begged to work there.) Instead, after years of searching for an “editor-in-chief”—I’m putting it in scare quotes because Fallon is still running the show—he promoted a nice traffic-getter from SheKnows. (I regret to inform everyone involved that pageviews are no longer valuable.)
On X, after the news of Booth’s departure, the writer Max Berlinger joked, “I guess I will get my fashion news from Stylenotcom’s Zara collection from now on.” But, like, honestly, yes? If you want clear, straightforward information, Style Not Com provides it. Vogue Business runs commodity announcements and the occasionally interesting trend story or profile. BoF doles out facts for C.M.O.s to tell their C.E.O.s. And then there is…
me!
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Demna’s surprise appointment at Gucci raises more questions than it answers. To wit: Can the single-minded designer stanch the bleeding from the De Sarno era with a harsh aesthetic that seems almost anathema to Gucci’s codes? And what will it mean for Kering’s sagging stock price?
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The decision to appoint Demna ( né Demna Gvasalia) as Gucci’s new creative director was made three months ago, but it was only during the past week that information started seeping out of Kering’s walls. Demna to Gucci?, people said, almost in disbelief. At Demna’s last Balenciaga show on Sunday night, however, you could feel some form of finality in the air.
On Monday, I noted that I could see the Vetements founder, who was appointed creative director of Balenciaga a decade ago, starting his own line. And I had heard as much. The plan was for Demna to do Demna—a collection, much like the original Vetements, based on his philosophy of dressing, and the meaning of clothes in our lives. I also said that the Gucci speculation was “silly,” because… how could the union of Demna and Gucci make sense?
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By Wednesday morning, though, reporters were being briefed on the embargoed news by Gucci chief executive Stefano Cantino and Kering deputy C.E.O. Francesca Bellettini. Balenciaga meetings were canceled. Demna posed for a new portrait. The official announcement, which came today, explained that Demna will work for the next six months at Balenciaga, and design one more couture collection. His first day at Gucci will be in July. The response from industry insiders, including current and former Gucci executives, was utter shock. Even those who were aware beforehand had trouble believing it. “Interesting choice,” was the mildest, and perhaps most cutting, response.
Almost three years ago, in late November 2022, Demna’s future—at Balenciaga, at Kering, even within the industry itself—was thrown into doubt after the contents of a throwaway holiday advertising campaign spurred a QAnon-adjacent scandal that ignited the Fox News crowd and prompted a series of investigations. But Demna was saved, in part, by the unceremonious departure of Gucci’s Alessandro Michele just a week earlier. Unlike LVMH, which continues to expand its purview, Kering C.E.O. François-Henri Pinault had spent the past decade pruning his portfolio to just a handful of brands. Even despite the headaches, he couldn’t afford to lose two elite creative directors in two weeks.
In the intervening years, Balenciaga’s scandal receded. Despite his reputation for having a one-track design mind, Demna let the merchandisers at Balenciaga do their thing with accessories beyond his inflated dad sneakers. The motorcycle bags that first caught on during Nicolas Ghesquière’s successful run at the house were popularized once again. Demna became fascinated with how so-called normal people dress, and, in some ways, proved that he could engage them as easily as he could the kids in black jeans and oversize logo t-shirts.
All the while, Gucci continued to struggle under the creative leadership of Sabato De Sarno. And yet Bellettini and Cantino, a Prada vet who spent seven additional years running marketing and communications for Louis Vuitton, were not quick to find a solution. Jonathan Anderson and Maria Grazia Chiuri interviewed for the job—who knows at what point—and there was a growing contingency that hoped Kering and Hedi Slimane would bury the legal hatchet (remember, he sued them) and come back together for the sake of Gucci. Others argued that Gucci should consider someone like Dario Vitale: a number two who was almost guaranteed to make it as a number one. Anyway, in retrospect, it’s wild to think that Demna will effectively become Michele’s successor. The Sabato chapter—May 2023 to September 2025—will be recalled as a mere blip.
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Since being promoted into the group-level role in September 2023, Bellettini has tended to rely on known quantities when making big hires. She promoted her longtime deputy, Balenciaga executive Cédric Charbit, to replace her as the C.E.O. of Saint Laurent. Cantino was a colleague from her days at Prada. In some ways, Demna is also a known quantity—a safe and trusted choice to lead a brand that requires a strong fashion proposition. In some ways, he was the only choice.
And yet this is also the craziest, riskiest thing Kering could have done. Demna is a genius, but polarizing. Forget about the silly scandal for a moment and just think about the clothes. His personal aesthetic—often harsh, unrelenting—is in many ways the opposite of Gucci, a warm, glossy brand in pretty much every iteration. It’s like comparing East Berlin and New York City in 1987.
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Demna seems to have really coveted the job, and wanted to prove that he is capable. (Look no further than 2021’s Gucci-Balenciaga collaboration for a preview of what it could be—I’m told that his proposal for the new Gucci blew Cantino and Bellettini away.) But his tenure will be the ultimate test for Pinault and Bellettini and Kering itself. The stock is off about 70 percent since the summer of 2021, shortly after that collaboration was released. Ideally, creative director misfires are stanched by guaranteed, if overpaid, slam dunk hires—that would have been Slimane in this case—rather than provocative open questions. We’ll see how the market reacts in the morning.
Demna’s name was rarely mentioned, if ever, in the recent game of designer musical chairs—there was never speculation that he was going to Chanel, or Dior, or Versace—but his hire ends this season of relocation. This year, we’ll see debuts from Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Dario Vitale at Versace, Michael Rider at Celine, Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe, and Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta. The final puzzle piece, for now, is Balenciaga.
Of course, the rumor mill—which Gucci executives tried, rather effectively, to slow during the Demna process—has already revved. Even before anyone knew where Demna was going, only that he was planning to leave, Pieter Mulier’s name surfaced. But I hear, whatever happens, it won’t be announced for months. One thing to note: Riccardo Tisci, late of Burberry and Givenchy, cleared his Instagram account yesterday.
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What I’m Reading… And Listening To… And Looking At...
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On the subject of Alexandre Arnault and Moët Hennessy… Donald Trump has said he would apply a 200 percent tariff on European wine (ha!) if the European Union does not do away with its planned tax on American whiskey. [ Reuters]
The executive in charge of recently laying off thousands of government workers was caught… wait for it… using her government office to post outfit-of-the-day videos! I truly feel for the pathetic types who try to be influencers but look super cringe and terrible—a.k.a., anyone using the #dcinfluencer hashtag. Take your business back to Tuckernuck and leave us alone! [ CNN]
One of the best things I saw in Paris was Zane Li’s latest collection. I love his Raf-at-Jil-Sander, early-Jacquemus vibes. He’s really good! I hope the Julie Gilharts of the world are watching. This guy needs to compete for the LVMH Prize next year. [ Vogue Runway]
José Criales-Unzueta documents the history of fashion’s obsession with… newspapers. [ Vogue]
As Emily Sundberg said, the comments section of this Vogue-produced video of Gigi Hadid performing Hairspray’s “You Can’t Stop the Beat” is “every social media manager’s nightmare.” [ YouTube]
If you need a break from fashion, might I suggest Matt Belloni’s interview with Justin Baldoni’s lawyer. [ The Town]
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And finally… Maybe it’s good that Dior is taking so long, after all. We need a break!
Until tomorrow,
Lauren
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An essential, insider-friendly Hollywood tip sheet from Matthew Belloni, who spent 14 years in the trenches at The Hollywood Reporter and five before that practicing entertainment law. What I’m Hearing also features veteran Hollywood journalist Kim Masters, as well as a special companion email from Eriq Gardner, focused on entertainment law, and weekly box office analysis from Scott Mendelson.
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