Dario Vitale has found his next home. The Italian designer has officially been named Creative Director of Emporio Armani, while also taking creative control of Giorgio Armani Accessories, effective immediately. The appointment makes Vitale the first designer from outside the Armani family to take creative charge of one of the group’s lines.
It’s a significant move for both Vitale and Armani. The appointment arrives just over a year after the death of Giorgio Armani in September 2025, as the house begins shaping its creative future without its founder. Emporio Armani, launched in 1981 as a younger and more metropolitan expression of the wider Armani universe, now becomes the first major line to welcome an external creative lead.
Vitale certainly arrives with the CV for it. Before briefly taking the reins at Versace in 2025, he spent around 14 years at Miu Miu, eventually becoming design director of ready-to-wear and brand image. His earlier career also included time at Dsquared2 and Bottega Veneta under Tomas Maier. Vitale's Versace chapter ultimately lasted just one season, ending in December 2025 following Prada Group's acquisition of the house.
Now, the designer faces a very different proposition. Emporio Armani has long operated as one of Giorgio Armani's spaces for experimentation, taking the founder's famously restrained design language and translating it for a younger, more everyday wardrobe. Vitale will be responsible for both its menswear and womenswear, alongside his separate remit overseeing accessories for the Giorgio Armani mainline.
The wider Giorgio Armani collections, meanwhile, remain under two of the founder's closest collaborators. Silvana Armani continues to oversee womenswear, while Leo Dell'Orco remains responsible for menswear. The pair described Emporio as a project built around freedom, experimentation and energy, saying they believe Vitale can interpret that identity while respecting its foundations.
Before Vitale gets his first word, however, there is one more chapter from the existing team. Emporio Armani's Spring/Summer 2027 men's and women's collection, designed by Dell'Orco and Silvana Armani, will be presented during Milan Fashion Week on September 24. Vitale's first collection is expected to follow in early 2027.
For Vitale, the appointment offers another opportunity to put his stamp on one of Italy's biggest fashion institutions. For Armani, it marks the beginning of something entirely new: opening the creative doors to an outsider while figuring out how one of fashion's most recognisable design languages evolves into its next era.
