Dario Vitale - Designer, Creative Director of Versace

[Kanzai]

Hmmm I think Dolce&Gabbana is a different case. They have too many phases/transitions (I mean the codes were still there but with different attitudes). They have a very high spirit of learning and integration. Say whatever y want about them, I see that they are very passionate about fashion.

Late 80s (melancholy and countryside austerity)







First half of 90s (Their blasting era imo)

Second half of 90s (late 90s more likely) and they had a shift in aesthetic again. Heavily inspired by those Galliano's collections for Dior at the time as y can see. That's the time Gianni died and passed the tourch to Donatella, this aesthetic made them a non-rival to Versace (at least until early 2000s). The menswear became less over layering and more Prada-esque.

 

[PDFSD]

Prada Group results are mixed and show signs of slowdown.

From Pambianconews “In the first half of the year, the Prada Group recorded net revenues of €2.7 billion, up 8% at current exchange rates (9% at constant exchange rates). Retail sales increased 8% on a current basis (10% at constant exchange rates) to €2.4 billion, while wholesale, worth just €220 million, decreased 2%. The flagship brand's retail sales fell 1.9% year-over-year in the first half and 3.6% in Q2. Miu Miu, now the group's driving force, continued its growth path, albeit with a slightly slower trajectory: retail sales grew 49% in the first half and 40% in Q2.”

Prada results are kept high by the excessive growth of Miu Miu.
Miu Miu is a youngsters fashionistas favorite for its great fitting and styles but the growth is unsustainable.
It’s excessive because you cannot keep the pace of 49% growth. It’s not possible.
Prada brand revenues are increasingly weak.

It’s interesting to see how the adv campaigns speak by themselves. Prada is in a sad mood, Miu Miu in a lush environment.

The burden of the acquisition of Versace will get heavy if the relaunch is not well managed and, over there, the uncertainty is very high.
The brand will not have a fashion show in Milan, Donatella is still there, Dario Vitali who knows the internal turmoil is quite worrying.

So far so good but the performance at the stock exchange has been -28.06% YTD

Lots of stuff but very tough and uninspiring way to manage the business.
People working there are undergoing too much pressure and leaving.


I (Susanna Nicoletti ) left Prada after a short stint in 2007 because I loved the brand but I felt very unease with the way of managing human resources and didn’t like the ruthless approach, but I did the same also in other occasions.
Eventually I realised that I didn’t want to be, generally speaking, a soldier in the army.

Susanna Nicoletti

i see them wanting to use some Miu Miu formula to fix versace

 

[Lola701]

The success of the Prada Group, through MiuMiu allows for Prada to not address the elephant in the room. Articles don’t talk a lot about Raf and the real impact of his contribution…Even more when we consider that Miuccia and a stylist are the architect behind the great success of MiuMiu.

As seasons past, the perspective of Raf taking over Prada seems more and more unlikely to me. And I guess the success of MiuMiu prevent from talking about succession…

But MiuMiu just grew too fast. And I wonder if now the brand is not prisoner of it logo À gogo merchandising. And I also wonder if they are waiting for a slower growth to relaunch in a big way Miu Miu menswear. It seems very timid for now.

Second half of 90s (late 90s more likely) and they had a shift in aesthetic again. Heavily inspired by those Galliano's collections for Dior at the time as y can see. That's the time Gianni died and passed the tourch to Donatella, this aesthetic made them a non-rival to Versace (at least until early 2000s). The menswear became less over layering and more Prada-esque.


View attachment 1401435

I find it interesting that for you, they were influenced by Galliano…
For me, the first decade of their career was heavily under influence. A bit of Alaia, a bit of Japanese, a bit of Romeo Gigli…
It was around the 1995/1996 collections that they have found a language of their own.

And I also think that the change in the guard of models has a lot changed the perception around their fashion. The Dolce & Gabbana woman, much like the Alaia woman, compared to the Versace woman, was very voluptuous.
And we can’t talk about that era without mentioning Prada and Gucci, which in a lot of ways, simplified the approach to clothes in Milan, much more than Galliano.

But paradoxically, there was something very « Gianni » in the D&G approach. The way they mixed prints and fabrics. Gianni would mix flowers with Animaliers. He would also make a collection in plastic.

And I agree about the influence of Prada in menswear. A great deal! With Helmut Lang too whereas in the beginning, it followed a little bit Gaultier.

But overall it’s always interesting to see a body of work as a whole, to have glimpse of what the evolution has been…Even more at a time when I think a brand like Dolce & Gabbana is on it legacy era.

 

[Kanzai]

^^^I mean those late 90s collections, Galliano somehow influenced them – it’s clear like daylight that the twos are fan of Galliano, Stefano always comment sth like heart emoji and “genius” on those posts regarding John. And who can forget that shade of him towards Victoria Beckham lol (She’s a friend. She make a good job but… for us, she don’t make the same way like a fashion designer. She’s a fashion designer but it’s another… it’s different. John Galliano is a designer… Alexander McQueen).