Blood on the catwalk: Valentino sacks creative director through the press
Feud over founder's legacy led to dismissal of fashion house's top designer
Paris fashion week ended yesterday not in the usual welter of air kissing and champagne toasts, but with a potentially expensive bout of backstabbing which has surprised even hardened style watchers by the savagery displayed.
Less than 24 hours after the Valentino show, the company announced the departure of the label's creative director, Alessandra Facchinetti, following a "misaligned vision with the company". It added, with biting brevity: "Her creative contribution and refined artistic talent were greatly appreciated." Facchinetti had been in place for less than two seasons after the label's founder, Valentino Garavani, stepped down. What made this announcement particularly harsh was that Facchinetti was unaware she had been fired.
Two hours later, she issued her own statement, saying that she felt "deep regret" to have learnt that she was fired from the press "since the company's top management has not yet seen fit to inform me. I would like to thank Valentino SPA for showing their appreciation of my 'creative contribution and sophisticated talent' although I deeply regret the fact that this talent and contribution do not seem to have been adequately acknowledged."
Valentino's longtime business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, soon stepped into the ring, expressing his approval of the removal of Facchinetti: "To pretend to transform and revolutionise the Valentino style is a utopia which is a loss from the start."
Valentino himself then joined the fray, complaining that Facchinetti had not sufficiently respected his legacy: "There is an existing archive with thousands of dresses where [a designer] can draw and take inspiration from to create a Valentino product that is relevant today. It is a shame that [Facchinetti] didn't feel this need."
This unusually public feud reveals the problems increasing numbers of big-name labels face when their founders reach retirement age but the business is too lucrative to close, reaping millions, even billions of dollars annually, albeit largely through cosmetics, underwear, sunglasses and jeans.
"It's an incredibly tricky balance for a young designer, and it's particularly tricky at Valentino where so much of the label's image was about Valentino's own extraordinarily glamorous life," said Vogue's fashion features editor, Harriet Quick.
"It's hard not to look at all this as nature's way of saying that, after a designer goes, you should shut the door. After all, nobody took over from Picasso when he died and you don't have David Lynch directing movies in Alfred Hitchcock's name. It does raise questions about what will happen at Ralph Lauren [who is 68] and Giorgio Armani [74] when they step down" said fashion writer Tim Blanks.
Today more money is involved than ever before and few would want to kill the cash cow of as established a name as Valentino. Moreover, customers already cautious about spending money in the luxury sector are drawn to labels with familiar names. "But how many people want something from a couture label that has not been shepherded by the designer himself?" asked Blanks.
There had been rumours of Facchinetti's departure all week. It is a far cry from how things seemed just a few months ago. After Faccinetti showed her first collection in February, Giametti expressed his delight, saying she "respected a master".
Valentino's complaints about Facchinetti's alleged lack of respect for his brand may reflect the designer's own bitterness after he was forced out in 2007 following the company's takeover by private equity firm Permira. But they also show the difficulty for young designers who try to take over at a label when the originator is still alive; Yves Saint Laurent made his displeasure known when Tom Ford stepped into his shoes in 1999, saying dismissively: "The poor guy does what he can."
What makes this latest row particularly bitter for Facchinetti is that she has been here before: in 2005 she was sacked from Gucci after just two seasons. Some suggest that part of her problem is the difficulty a young woman faces in the world of male-dominated big brands. Others say Facchinetti's sales had been disappointing. Either way, insiders say this high profile feud could leave the Valentino brand with a costly problem because magazines and department stores will be unsure how to promote Facchinetti's "lame duck" collections for the label.
"It seems a very unpleasant thing to do to a young female designer," Blanks said. "As for established labels taking on young designers, we're now looking at a chalice that is irrevocably poisoned."
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