The Tamesis
Nicolas Di Felice is leaving Courrèges.
“I would like to [Artemis] Di Felice said in a statement that he was leaving the group, specifically François and François-Henri Pinault, thanking them for their trust and explaining that he would be leaving “to focus on personal projects.”
Di Felice, a Belgian graduate of La Cambre Academy in Brussels, was appointed Artistic Director of Courrèges in September 2020. Before that, he was a behind-the-scenes designer, working with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, and Raf Simons at Christian Dior.
Despite the challenges of debuting during the coronavirus lockdown, Di Felice quickly caught the attention of the fashion world with his body-conscious clubwear, and he’s enjoying throwing rave-style after-parties as the world reopens. He brought an eye for spectacle to his fashion shows, which featured different tactile “breathing” settings and colorful confetti that pulsed to the beat of a soundtrack. But during his five years at the brand, he also built a truly identifiable Courrèges wardrobe, which includes vinyl jackets and space-age AC logo miniskirts (designed for brand founder André Courrèges), ribbed knits and bootcut jeans. As if to make that point, the brand’s swansong, which took place in Paris earlier this month, was themed “24 Hours in the Life of a Coureger Woman.”
Courrèges will announce a new artistic director next week. The departure of Di Felice, 42, is sure to spark talk of him as a contender for the Alaïa job left vacant by Pieter Mulier’s exit from Versace.
