The Roman fashion house announced on Thursday that its CEO Jacopo Venturini was leaving “for personal reasons,” a position he had held since June 2020. His departure earlier this week comes four months after Alessandro Michele took over as artistic director at Valentino, accompanied by a complete overhaul of the brand’s image.
“In the boardroom, everything moves as fast as on the catwalk. If the story doesn’t sell fast enough, it’s not just the creative director who changes, but also the captain,” said luxury expert Marco Ruffa on LinkedIn, commenting on Jacopo Venturini’s departure, which came as no surprise and was revealed today.
After five years of loyal service, he has reportedly resigned from his position as CEO at Valentino. On June 30, the Italian fashion house had already mentioned that he was on sick leave.
The brand cites a “mutual agreement” and an effective departure date of Wednesday, August 13.
Behind this departure looms the real “stress test” for Marco Ruffa, which the Valentino fashion house has been undergoing since Alessandro Michele left Gucci for the Rome-based company. Expert Marco Ruffa cites new rhythms imposed by the financial world on the luxury industry.
Expectations are all the higher given that Kering, heavily affected by Gucci’s declining results, has acquired a 30% stake in Valentino with an option to buy the entire company by 2030.
For him, such departures are far from isolated. He cites as proof the surprise departure in 2019 of Virginie Viard from Chanel after five years as artistic director of the Rue Cambon fashion house.
The luxury investigative media outlet Miss Tweed is already mentioning a possible replacement in the form of Riccardo Bellini, a defector from Margiela and Chloé.
Read also > Valentino and Christian Lacroix: two CEOs on their way out?
Featured image: © Valentino
