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Italian fashion group Armani has appointed Dario Vitale as Creative Director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories with immediate effect. He becomes the first designer from outside the Armani family to take creative charge of one of its lines.
The group confirmed Vitale’s dual role on 16 September, following months of speculation about his next position after leaving Versace in December 2025.
Vitale will lead the creative direction of Emporio Armani, the diffusion line founded by Giorgio Armani in 1981, while overseeing accessories for the Giorgio Armani mainline. Emporio Armani was established as a lower-priced route into the wider brand, with an early focus on denim and younger consumers.
Vitale said: “I am honoured to take on this dual role across Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani, 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.”
He said he approached the position with “a deep sense of responsibility and excitement” as the business develops a new creative era.
Vitale brings experience from Miu Miu and Versace
Vitale joined Versace as Creative Director in March 2025, becoming the first designer from outside the Versace family to oversee its collections. He presented one collection, spring/summer 2026, before departing after Prada Group completed its €1.25 billion acquisition of Versace from Capri Holdings.
Before Versace, Vitale spent almost 15 years at Miu Miu, where he became ready-to-wear design director and head of image. His tenure coincided with a period of rapid commercial growth for the Prada-owned label, whose sales rose 93% in 2024.
His experience developing a younger brand within a larger luxury group gives him a commercial background suited to Emporio Armani, which sits below the Giorgio Armani mainline.
Silvana Armani, who oversees womenswear design, and Leo Dell’Orco, who oversees menswear design, commented in a joint statement that Emporio Armani was conceived as a space for creative freedom and experimentation.
“Emporio Armani is much more than a line for us: it is a reality to which we are deeply connected, having followed and shared its journey since the very beginning,” they said.
“Emporio was born as a space of freedom, experimentation and energy, and 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.”
Armani develops its post-founder structure
The appointment is the group’s first major external creative hire since Giorgio Armani died aged 91 in September 2025. Silvana Armani now leads womenswear at the mainline, while Dell’Orco oversees menswear and chairs the group’s board.
Armani Group CEO and Managing Director Giuseppe Marsocci said Vitale’s appointment would strengthen its creative organisation. He described Emporio Armani as strategically important to the company and its international partners, while identifying Giorgio Armani Accessories as a growth opportunity.
Armani’s heirs are preparing to implement the founder’s succession plan, which requires the sale of an initial 15% stake by March 2027. Under the broader plan, another stake is to be sold during the following three-to-five-year period, although weaker luxury trading has complicated preparations.
Armani Group reported 2025 sales of €2.192 billion, down 2.8%, while consolidated EBITDA rose 3.2% to €152.7 million.
Main image: Dario Vitale photographed by Jeanette Montgomery Barron. Courtesy Image.