Dario Vitale named creative director of Emporio Armani
Dario Vitale is the new creative director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories. The Armani Group announced the appointment on 16 September 2026, according to WWD. He is the first person from outside the Armani family to hold the role.
A creative director sets the design direction for a label. That work shapes colours, fabrics and shapes across a season. Shoppers later see the result on the rails in stores.
Ready-to-wear is the part of the industry Vitale knows best. The term means factory-made clothes sold in standard sizes. It is different from made-to-measure, which is cut for one client, and from couture, the hand-made end of the trade that is tightly controlled in France.
Vitale built his reputation over 15 years at Miu Miu. He worked his way up to ready-to-wear design director, the senior post in charge of those standard-size collections. He left that post in January 2025.
He did not stay out of work for long. He was named creative director of Versace in March 2025. He left in December 2025 after presenting only one collection. He lasted one season.
That timeline moved fast. January brought the exit from Miu Miu. March brought the start at Versace. December brought the exit from Versace. September brings the start at Armani.
Versace itself changed hands during the same period. The Prada Group acquired Versace from Capri Holdings for an enterprise value of EUR 1.25 billion. Enterprise value is the full value placed on a business in a sale, including debt as well as equity.
The family detail matters because it tells you who has held creative control. Until this appointment, these Armani roles had stayed inside the family. Vitale is the first outsider to take them on.
What makes this stand out is the pace and the break with habit. Vitale returns to a top design job nine months after leaving Versace. He steps into a group that had kept these jobs close until now.
For people who follow the shows, the name on the invitation will now read differently. Emporio Armani reaches a broad, international audience. Accessories travel even further, from handbags and shoes to small leather goods that sell in large numbers.
