A fresh round of fashion musical chairs is now firmly underway with the announcement that Anthony Vaccarello has left his position as creative director of Versus Versace. The news had been expected imminently ever since the announcement came last week that Hedi Slimane has left his role as creative director of Saint Laurent, a long-rumored departure and a vacancy that Vaccarello is strongly rumored to fill now that he has left Versus.
Though there has been no statement from Vaccarello himself, his former Versus boss Donatella Versace says, “While I’m sad to see him leave the Versace family, I wish Anthony Vaccarello tremendous success with his next chapter,” the New York Times reports.
Donatella also highlights her role in nurturing the best new designers in the industry at Versus, the ‘wild little sister’ label that she launched in 1993 before taking the reigns of the main Versace brand in 1997 after the untimely passing of her brother Gianni. British designers J.W. Anderson and Christopher Kane had also designed collections for Versus before Anthony Vaccarello’s six season tenure. “In each instance, their time on Versus Versace led to them making a huge advancement in their design career,” Donatella notes, adding, “I appreciated the chance to work with each of these three designers, and I enjoyed seeing what they brought to a brand I truly love. I’m proud that Versus can be such a remarkable global platform for emerging design talent.”
Versus have not yet announced the name of the designer who will succeed Vaccarello, but Donatella tells the New York Times that the choice is set to “surprise everybody.” We can’t wait!
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Photography Collier Schorr
Fashion Director Alastair McKimm