End-of-Year Fashion Commotion
The weird Dario Vitale exit at Versace, the auction of Leigh Bowery costumes, and toothpaste à la Rick Owens.
As the year comes to a close, read about the latest news that will shape high fashion for 2026:
Dario Vitale Out At Now Prada-Owned Versace
In a shock move, it was announced that Dario Vitale, the newly installed designer at Versace, had left the company after only one season. It’s reported that he had not shown up at the Milan design offices for the last few days, an absence that foreshadowed the news.
The Prada Paradigm
Some are blaming the recent confirmation of the Prada acquisition. The assumed reasoning: now with the confirmed acquisition of Versace, Prada have their own plans in mind that didn’t include Vitale.
Vitale may have dodged a bullet. The Prada Group does not have the best track record acquiring and growing marquee assets. Two high-profile examples:
Helmut Lang (≈ $36 million estimated loss)
1999: Prada acquires 51% stake — $40 million ($77 million at present).
2004: Prada purchases remaining shares.
2005: Helmut Lang leaves his company after disputes with Prada leadership. (The designer has not returned to fashion and lives as a contemporary sculptor, in somewhat Garbo-esque anonymity on Long Island.)
2006: Prada sells the Helmut Lang brand — approx. $25 million ($41 million at present.)
Jil Sander (reported ≈ $100 million estimated loss)
1999: Prada Group acquires a 75% slice — for approx. $110 million ($217 million at present).
2002: the Group had acquired most of the outstanding shares.
2000: Reports appear that Ms. Sander is unhappy with Prada leadership and leaves the company. (Her final collection, Fall 2000, proved to be a masterclass in soft, refined chic.)
2006: after reported financial losses, the Jil Sander brand is sold to a private-equity firm — $111 million - $120 million at present.
Leigh Bowery and McQueen At Auction
December 9th, Kerry Taylor Auctions will bring to market their “Passion For Fashion: London” lot. There is Karl Lagerfeld-era Chanel haute couture, some early 00s Galliano. But the pieces that make this outing special are the archival Leigh Bowery costumes from the 1980s and Ann Ray’s moody black-and-white photographs of her dear friend Alexander McQueen.
Rick Owens Toothpaste
Rick Owens, the American-in-Paris master cutter, is getting into dental hygiene with a rather chic introductory line of toothpaste, mouthwash, a handmade horn toothbrush, with an “eau d’extrait mouthspray,” per the Selahatin website, who are the collaborators with Owens.
The range is made up of notes of “verbena, Madagascar vanilla, and Sichuan pepper open with electric clarity. Juniper and dark citrus trace a sharp line through the heart, while rosemary lends a cool austerity.”
Price: @221/set. Currently in stock.