The fashion house Valentino announced on Friday that Pierpaolo Piccioli, its creative director, would be leaving after more than two decades at the brand and just weeks after unveiling a much heralded women’s wear collection during Paris Fashion Week.
Mr. Piccioli was instrumental in redefining Valentino for the era after the retirement of the brand’s founder, Valentino Garavani. Worn by celebrities like Frances McDormand and Florence Pugh, his work combined ease and elegance in an ineffably modern way.
“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,” Mr. Piccioli, 56, said in a statement.
The news of his departure sent reverberations around the fashion industry. “I’m between stunned and stupefied,” Linda Fargo, the fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, wrote in an email.
Mr. Piccioli had been the sole creative director of Valentino since July 2016, when Maria Grazia Chiuri left to become creative director at Dior. The duo had run the design side of the house since 2008, a decade after joining the Rome-based company in 1999.
