The Former Versace And Miu Miu Designer Will Lead Emporio Armani And Giorgio Armani Accessories, Becoming The First Designer Outside The Armani Family To Hold The Role
The Armani Group has appointed Dario Vitale as Creative Director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories, marking a significant step in the evolution of the Italian fashion group’s creative leadership following the death of Giorgio Armani.
Effective immediately, the appointment makes Vitale the first designer outside the Armani family to assume the newly defined dual role. He will oversee the creative direction of Emporio Armani while also taking responsibility for Giorgio Armani accessories, an area the group has identified as a significant opportunity for future development.
Vitale arrives at Armani following a brief but closely watched tenure at Versace, where he became Chief Creative Officer in March 2025 and presented a single collection before departing in December following Prada Group’s acquisition of the house from Capri Holdings.
Before Versace, Vitale spent 15 years at Miu Miu, ultimately serving as Ready-to-Wear Design Director. His tenure coincided with the brand’s rise into one of fashion’s most influential and commercially dynamic labels. Earlier in his career, he worked with Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta after studying at Istituto Marangoni.
His arrival at Armani now places him within a very different creative framework: one built around preserving the distinct design language established by Giorgio Armani while determining how it evolves beyond its founder.
“I am honored 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,” Vitale said. “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.”
Vitale will work within the creative structure established around Silvana Armani, Head of Womenswear Design, and Leo Dell’Orco, Head of Menswear Design. The two emphasized Emporio Armani’s historically more experimental position within the wider Armani universe in announcing his appointment.
“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,” Silvana Armani and Dell’Orco said in a joint statement. “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.”
Vitale will not, however, be responsible for the Emporio Armani Spring 2027 collection scheduled to be presented on Sept. 24 at Armani/Teatro. That collection was designed by Dell’Orco and Silvana Armani and will be unveiled as a presentation rather than through the brand’s traditional runway format.
The appointment also gives Vitale responsibility for a strategically important category at the Giorgio Armani label. Accessories have become a central growth engine across the luxury industry, and Armani Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Giuseppe Marsocci explicitly pointed to their potential in outlining the thinking behind the new structure.
“The appointment of Dario Vitale marks an important milestone for the Armani Group,” Marsocci said, describing the move as one that strengthens its creative organization while continuing the group’s evolution within the values established by its founder.
“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 appointment comes during a consequential period for the privately held group. Following Giorgio Armani’s death, Dell’Orco was named Chairman of the Board and continues to oversee menswear, while Silvana Armani leads womenswear. The company’s succession structure is also being implemented according to provisions established by its founder.
Against that backdrop, bringing an outside designer into the creative organization represents a notable development. Vitale is not being handed creative control of the entire Giorgio Armani universe; instead, the group is introducing an external creative voice through Emporio Armani and accessories while maintaining the broader leadership structure around Dell’Orco and Silvana Armani.
It also gives Vitale a platform particularly suited to experimentation. Since its launch in 1981, Emporio Armani has functioned as the more youthful and accessible expression of the Armani aesthetic, historically providing greater freedom to engage with changing cultural and generational attitudes.
For Vitale, whose work at Miu Miu and later Versace demonstrated a strong emphasis on product, character, and contemporary reinterpretation, the challenge will be to bring that perspective into one of Italian fashion’s most recognizable design systems without losing the restraint and consistency on which Armani was built.
His appointment begins that process immediately — and establishes the first significant outside creative voice in the Armani organization as the group starts writing its post-founder chapter.