Armani has locked down the most sought-after free agent in the fashion industry.
Dario Vitale, an Italian designer who previously spent just eight months as the creative director of Versace, was announced on Wednesday as the new creative director of Emporio Armani.
Since Vitale’s abrupt ousting at Versace in December, the industry’s chattering class has been swept up in an endless game of prognosticating his next move. Signing Vitale — whose sole collection has been puffed up to an almost mythical reputation in the fashion world — is a boon for Armani, which has been a bit flat on the creative side since the death of its founder, Giorgio Armani, last September.
Vitale will now be in charge of Emporio, the more sprightly, spangly and occasionally sexy corner of the Armani empire. He will also be the creative director of Giorgio Armani’s accessories, the first person outside the Armani family to hold that role.
“We are convinced that Dario’s arrival in our team, as a talent already established on the international stage, will interpret its spirit with respect and authenticity,” Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco, the heads of Armani’s women’s wear and men’s wear design, said in a statement.
“I approach all of this with a deep sense of responsibility and excitement as we build upon that rich foundation, defining a new era together,” Vitale added.
The appointment is sure to be viewed as teeing up Vitale to eventually assume the role of creative director of Giorgio Armani, a loftier position that has been held by Dell’Orco since Armani’s passing.
Vitale enters the brand at a crucial moment: In his will, Armani instructed his heirs to sell a 15 percent stake of the company within 18 months of his death. As of last month, the company was on track to miss that March 2027 deadline, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Until just about two years ago, few outside the cliquey Milan fashion community were aware of Vitale. He spent most of his career toiling behind the scenes at Miu Miu, the nimbler little sister brand to big, corporate Prada. He rose to design director under Miuccia Prada, Miu Miu’s creative director and founder, helping to usher the brand into a new chapter of explosive growth.
In early 2025, Vitale stepped out from the wings to become Versace’s first creative director to not have the label’s gilded surname. No one really knew what to expect going into Vitale’s first runway collection — and, it turned out, his only one — last September. His predecessor, Donatella Versace, held the post for almost 30 years before him, becoming a beloved figure in the fashion world with hits like Jennifer Lopez’s famed cut-to-the-navel “jungle dress.”
Vitale’s debut jolted the industry, becoming the subject of breathless critical assessments and celebrity endorsements, if not surefire commercial hits.
Vitale’s Versace was a romp of rococo gold bralettes, skirts with Warholian prints, tank tops with risqué cutouts and leather trousers worn alongside fat neck ties. He punctured the quiet luxury stupor with vivacious color combos: a turquoise scoop-neck tee under a teal bomber, rounded out by a set of lilac trousers; a deep purple bomber thrown over a green button-down and bright-red pants.
The collection owed an ample debt to the 1980s, a far more maximalist time in fashion. It was sexy, even a little dirty, with trousers that bunched seductively around the crouch and tiny tops providing an ample serving of skin.
Vitale’s creations were soon worn by Gen-Z celebs, like the pop singers Olivia Dean and Addison Rae, who were keen to romp around in some kicky clothes. Buyers had high hopes that Vitale’s Versace would be welcomed by statement-seeking shoppers. But it was not to last.
At Versace, Vitale would ultimately be a victim of corporate realignments. Not long after his appointment as designer was announced, Versace was acquired by Prada. The long-simmering rumor is that Vitale took the job knowing that his former bosses were going to fire him.
Whether he had warning or not, after less than a year, Vitale was ousted in December. His collection hit stores just a few months later, but without much marketing oomph. The ephemerality and audacity of Vitale’s sole collection, as well as the passed-around story that he took the job knowing his former employer would show him the door once it took charge of Versace — whether true or not — helped lift its reputation.
In February it was announced that Pieter Mulier, formerly of Alaïa, and a longtime colleague and compatriot of Prada’s co-creative director, Raf Simons, would be Versace’s new designer.
Vitale has since stayed out of the spotlight. He has posted intermittently to his Instagram Stories, but his sole Versace collection made such an impression that he has not needed to do much to keep the fashion world curious about his next move.
At Emporio, he now has an opportunity to prove he’s more than a one-hit wonder.
Vanessa Friedman contributed reporting.
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