Versace Confirms Pieter Mulier's Debut at Paris Couture Week The Belgian designer will be in the spotlight of Parisian haute couture next January

After Dario Vitale's departure, now from Emporio Armani, the acquisition by the Prada Group and the appointment of Pieter Mulier as creative director, the debut of the "new" Versace is one of the most anticipated events of the upcoming fashion month. But, as was announced today, Mulier's debut will not be in ready-to-wear but in Haute Couture. Mulier's debut will thus coincide with the return to the runway of Atelier Versace, absent from the Haute Couture calendar since July 2016. It is a high-risk debut, then, but also a moment intended to mark the brand's repositioning at the highest levels of luxury.

Atelier Versace and the Bet on Mulier

Versace is a brand that, especially after Covid, has run aground both creatively and commercially in a lukewarm — and repetitive — comfort zone. As intellectual property and cultural heritage, however, the brand remains deeply beloved. Even with Dario Vitale's brief tenure, so to speak, enthusiasm was through the roof: a new vision had demonstrated just how much the brand still had to offer. Expectations for Mulier are equally high but different in nature, more in keeping with the designer's intellectual and sophisticated spirit. And the very choice of a designer like him hints at where the Prada Group wanted to take Versace. Debuting with Haute Couture only confirms that intention.

Atelier Versace was announced in 1989 as the brand's experimental atelier, which at the time was called Gianni Versace. The first Haute Couture collection was presented in Paris the following year and, riding the brand's success during those years, the line represented the consecration of Gianni Versace as a couturier. Atelier Versace presentations continued even after the designer's death, coming to a first halt in 2004 due to a lack of orders. The line remained dormant until 2012, then returned, only to go on indefinite hiatus again in 2016. This up-and-down trajectory indirectly reflects the brand's fluctuating presence in popular culture.

Hollywood?

Now, the return of Atelier Versace signals that the Prada Group has ambitious plans for the brand, intending to position it in the ultra-luxury sphere — likely replicating the extraordinary appeal that Mulier managed to restore at Alaïa. The key question, therefore, is first and foremost whether the combination of the freshness Mulier brings and Versace's brand equity will prove as reactive and explosive as expected. Secondly, it concerns the timeline for Mulier's vision reaching stores, given that the ready-to-wear debut will come only later, meaning actual products won't be available until well into 2027.

The strategy, then, appears to be one of opening with a collection that makes a powerful visual impact, perhaps also introducing a new bag or shoe for the occasion. After the first show — which takes place at a crucial moment, right around Hollywood's awards season (and we have already seen Nicole Kidman wearing a preview piece this summer) — we might expect several high-impact media moments: red carpet appearances, VIP sightings, new brand ambassadors. And once public desire has been stoked sufficiently, the ready-to-wear will follow. Whether that collection will be immediately available, as was the very first Gucci by Demna, remains to be seen. But will it be a hit? The anticipation is already sky-high.