Valentino’s Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli Leaves after 25 Years

Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli appears at the end of his Menswear ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, January 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli appears at the end of his Menswear ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, January 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Valentino’s Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli Leaves after 25 Years

Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli appears at the end of his Menswear ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, January 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli appears at the end of his Menswear ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, January 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Italian fashion house Valentino said on Friday it had agreed with its creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli to end their collaboration, adding that a new "creative organization" would be announced soon.

Piccioli started working at Valentino in 1999 and took on the role of sole creative director in 2016.

"We extend our deepest gratitude to Pierpaolo for writing an important chapter in the history of the Maison Valentino. His contribution over the past 25 years will leave an indelible mark," Valentino's chairman Rachid Mohamed Rachid said.

Piccioli said in the same statement: "I've been in this company for 25 years, and for 25 years I've existed and I've lived with the people who have woven the weaves of this beautiful story that is mine and ours."

French luxury group Kering bought a 30% stake in Valentino last year from Qatari investment fund Mayhoola for 1.7 billion euros ($1.84 billion).

The agreement includes an option for Kering to purchase the whole of Valentino's share capital no later than 2028.



Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkin-bag maker Hermes reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers for its luxury handbags, even as less affluent consumers pull back.

Sales at the French luxury group grew to 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion), a 13% organic sales rise that strips out currency fluctuations. The figure was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Operating profit for the first half was 3.1 billion euros, compared to a forecast from consensus provider Visible Alpha for 3.2 billion.

One of the most steady performers in the luxury goods sector -- even as economic conditions worsen -- the French group's results stand out after a string of disappointing earnings updates from peers which have raised investor concern about uncertain prospects for the sector in the coming months.

Hermes' famously classic designs and tight management of production and stock have helped reinforce the label's aura of exclusivity, and CEO Axel Dumas told reporters the company had seen "no big interruption in trends".

However, he said Hermes was seeing slightly less traffic with aspirational clients, which was impacting higher volume products like fashion accessories.