Kering appointed Demna Gvasalia as artistic director of Gucci, turning to the Balenciaga designer to inject new life into its flagship brand at a difficult time for the industry.

Gucci has announced that the Balenciaga artistic director Demna, who goes by one name, will take over the creative direction of the Italian luxury fashion house starting in July.

Demna will show his final Balenciaga couture collection in July before starting at Gucci. The announcement caps weeks of fevered speculation over the future of Italy's largest luxury house, which has been on a high-stakes hunt for a new designer to reverse falling sales since parting ways with Sabato De Sarno in February.