Alessandro Michele is stepping down as Gucci's creative director

Alessandro Michele is stepping down as Gucci's creative director, the company announced Wednesday.

Michele, who has been with Gucci for 20 years, assumed the role in 2015. Before becoming creative director, he was in the company's shoe and accessories department.

"There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have," Michele said in a statement released by Kering, the luxury goods brand that owns Gucci. "Today an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than twenty years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion."

Michele brought a genderfluid and maximalist aesthetic to the brand, which was a departure from Tom Ford's sleek and provocative rebranding which saved the company in the 1990s.

Kering wrote that Michele "has played a fundamental part in making the brand what it is today through his groundbreaking creativity, while staying true to the renowned codes of the House."

Dakota Johnson, Harry Styles and Lana Del Ray all led Gucci campaigns, which saw accelerated sales when Michele was in charge. According to The Washington Post, Gucci's revenue rose from just under €4 billion ($4.1 billion) in 2015 to €9.7 billion ($10 billion) in 2021. Its success took a hit due to the pandemic, though, and now Gucci is looking to revamp.

Michele described the people behind Gucci as his adopted family and thanked them in his statement. He left them with a wish: to continue to cultivate their dreams, "the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living."

"May you continue to nourish yourselves with poetic and inclusive imagery, remaining faithful to your values," he said. "May you always live by your passions, propelled by the wind of freedom."

A new creative director has not yet been announced. [Copyright 2022 NPR]