Versace seemed a step closer to snaring Riccardo Tisci on Thursday after Givenchy revealed the designer would exit after an electrifying 12-year tenure as its artistic director.
According to sources, the Italian fashion house is zeroing in on a signature with Tisci, even as the company reiterated that it does not comment on rumors.
It is understood Versace is making final tweaks to its organization to welcome the 42-year-old designer, who revved up and reinvented Givenchy in his own edgy image.
The French couture house confirmed his departure exclusively to WWD on Thursday, noting that his last collections were fall men’s wear and spring couture, which were paraded together at the National Library of France in Paris on Jan. 20.
Sources described the parting as amicable and by mutual agreement. The separation was effective Jan. 31 following the expiration of his latest employment agreement.
WWD broke the news on Jan. 19 that Versace has been chasing Tisci, who has long expressed his admiration for the work of the late Gianni Versace and cultivated a close friendship with his sister, Donatella, whom he invited to pose in a Givenchy ad campaign in 2015.
In light of Tisci’s departure, Givenchy will not stage a runway show on March
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