The appointment of Dario Vitale as Emporio Armani creative director, effective immediately, represents the first time in the label’s history that someone outside the Armani family has been entrusted with its creative leadership. According to Vogue, Vitale, who was born in 1983, will also take responsibility for Giorgio Armani accessories, a dual remit that places him at the centre of the group’s most commercially consequential creative decisions.
The announcement comes in the months following the death of Giorgio Armani on 4 September 2025, aged 91. Since the founder’s passing, the brand’s womenswear output had been led by his niece, Silvana Armani, while the menswear arm had been guided by his longtime collaborator, Leo Dell’Orco. The era of stewardship by those close to the founder is now, in practical terms, drawing to a close. Vitale steps in as the first outside actor ever tasked with interpreting what the report’s own language calls Mr. Armani’s “time-honoured codes from scratch.”
From Miu Miu to Versace: the making of Dario Vitale Emporio Armani’s new creative voice
The CV is, by any measure, a compelling one. Hypebeast reports that Vitale spent 14 years at Miu Miu before making his move, a tenure that placed him at the engine room of one of fashion’s most discussed ascents. He was widely credited as a key force behind the label’s feverish momentum over the past three years, the kind of slow-build influence that does not generate a single attributable headline but reshapes a house’s entire sensibility.
He was then appointed chief creative officer of Versace in March 2025, debuting his first collection, for SS26, during Milan Fashion Week that September. The work was, by the accounts that followed, a recalibration rather than a rupture: high-octane glamour distilled into something more insouciantly lived-in. Vivid colour, louche silhouettes, an off-duty sensuality worked through retro-inflected T-shirts, slouchy knits, blousons and what became, almost immediately, the season’s most talked-about denim. His hyper-saturated, Andy Warhol-inspired Party Print, applied to silk twill shirts and heeled pumps, amassed a following that fashion editors and clients alike were apparently unwilling to wait for.
The Versace chapter closed quickly. Following the Prada Group’s purchase of the house, the two parties announced they had “mutually agreed to part ways effective from 12 December.” In a statement provided to Vogue Business, Prada Group said: ‘We would like to sincerely thank Dario for his outstanding contribution to the development of the brand’s creative strategy during this transition period, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.’ One season, one collection, and a clean exit. The fashion industry, which rarely rewards brevity, watched with interest.
What the Armani Group is asking of its new Dario Vitale Emporio Armani appointment
The institutional framing of the announcement is careful but direct. Giuseppe Marsocci, CEO and managing director of the Armani Group, said in a statement: ‘The appointment of Dario Vitale marks an important milestone for the Armani Group: a decision that strengthens our creative organisation and confirms our commitment to looking ahead, consolidating the Group’s path of evolution while remaining faithful to Giorgio Armani’s values and vision.’
Marsocci continued: ‘Emporio Armani is a brand of strategic relevance for us and our partners around the world. Giorgio Armani accessories represent a great opportunity. We look to this new phase with enormous confidence.’
Vitale’s own statement positions him as a custodian rather than a disruptor, which is, given the circumstances, exactly the right register. ‘I am honoured to take on this dual role across Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani,’ he said, ‘and deeply grateful to Silvana and Leo for welcoming me into their world. Armani has a powerful legacy and unmistakable design language; a heritage that has spanned decades and shaped the history of fashion. 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.’
There is something to notice in the phrase “defining a new era together.” It is the language of collaboration rather than conquest, which is shrewd when you are walking into a house whose founder died less than a year ago and whose name remains above the door. The Armani Group has confirmed the appointment is effective immediately. When Vitale will show his first collection has not yet been announced.
