Versace appoints Belgian designer Pieter Mulier as creative chief

Luxury fashion group Prada has announced Belgian designer Pieter Mulier as the new chief creative officer of Versace, a move that brings him under the same roof as his longtime collaborator, Raf Simons.

The appointment was confirmed on Thursday by Prada, which owns the Italian fashion label. Mulier, 46, takes over from Dario Vitale, who spent just nine months at Versace after succeeding Donatella Versace before stepping down unexpectedly in December.

Mulier, who previously worked at Alaïa for five years, is expected to officially assume his new role on July 1.

His appointment will see him reunite with fellow Belgian designer Raf Simons, who has been co-designing at Prada alongside Miuccia Prada since 2020.

Prada acquired the Versace brand last year from Capri Holdings for 1.25 billion euros ($1.47 billion), hoping to breathe new life into a brand that had struggled under its US owner.

Mulier has spent a large part of his fashion career at Simons’ side, including at Jil Sander and Christian Dior, and later was creative director at Calvin Klein.

“We believe that he can truly unlock Versace’s full potential and that he will be able to engage in a fruitful dialogue with the brand’s strong legacy,” Lorenzo Bertelli, the head of Versace, said in a statement.

Mulier joined Alaia in 2021 when he became the label’s first creative director since the death of its founder, Azzedine Alaia, whose body-moulding creations, often constructed of tight strips of knitted fabric, enjoyed their zenith in the 1990s.

At Alaia, the native of Ostend tapped his background in architecture for sculptural creations that played with volume and proportion, earning him an International Designer of the Year award at the prestigious CFDA Awards last year.

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