The air was thick with a mix of sombre resignation and a palpable sense of excitement on 22 June 2024. Right on the outskirts of Paris, beloved Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten was about to stage his Spring/Summer 2025 menswear runway show—his final. Thirty-eight years, 150 collections and 129 shows later, Van Noten was prepared to take his final bow.
That the show venue, a stunningly rundown defunct factory, was also the location of his still memorable 50th runway show was not lost on longtime fans of the Antwerp Six member. I asked a PR rep if Van Noten was set to recreate the same Spring/Summer 2005 womenswear show where the runway was essentially a long dinner table. “Not at all. But it will be very special,” he said. But of course; I should’ve known better. Van Noten’s oeuvre has rarely been about looking back. His deft use of colours, prints and textures have been stylistically refreshing collection after collection, and while he dealt with both menswear and womenswear, the former became a blueprint of how men choose to dress.
The physical show invite was simple: “LOVE” printed on a silver foil card. And there was plenty of it going around. Pre-show cocktails revolved around a massive cube onto which Van Noten’s illustrious moments were projected. As the crowd streamed in, I began noticing the wonderful array of Dries Van Noten archives that accompanied them, each interpreted in one’s own sense of style. And while it was a given that editors from around the world had congregated, so too had Van Noten’s contemporaries and fellow designers. At one corner was Diane von Furstenberg chatting with Derek Blasberg, Pierpaolo Piccioli arrived together with Haider Ackermann, Harris Reed’s imposing figure was hard to ignore, Thom Browne was in classic Thom Browne, and of course there were fellow Antwerp Six members Ann Demeulemeester and Walter Van Beirendonck.
Van Noten made his rounds after a while. Together with his partner, Patrick Vangheluwe, he greeted and thanked guests for their attendance, both visibly touched by the quietly deafening awe and respect that permeated through. They say to “never meet your heroes” but I took the opportunity to ask for a photo together.
“I’m a forever fan. Thank you for your brilliance,” I managed to muster after our quick snap.
“Thank you,” he replied.
His brilliance continued on in the next room as pitch black curtains fell to reveal a silver foil runway set atop the concrete floor. The 69-look collection was showcased by male and female models old and new to the brand. From Karen Elson to Cole Mohr to Clément Chabernaud to Sang Woo Kim, it was a true-to-form diverse cast. I spotted Thomas Riguelle—a model I’ve had worked with before and who I’d gush with over Dries Van Noten collections he’d walk for throughout the years—in a multi-layered fit consisting of clashing floral prints. He told me the day after: “I’m still emotional.”
Van Noten is far from the only designer we’ve lost in menswear this year.
Just a few months prior, Piccioli announced his departure from Valentino after 25 years at the Maison. Piccioli joined Valentino in 1999 and eventually became co-creative director together with Maria Grazia Chiuri in 2009. He then took sole creative reins in 2016, continuing the legacy of the Maison in his own dreamy vision of bold menswear proposals founded on Valentino’s couture heritage.
It’s difficult to find a Piccioli for Valentino menswear collection that was nothing short of awe-inspiring. This was after all, the man who cleverly collaborated with Japanese designer Jun Takahashi of Undercover in 2019 to create arresting graphics set against contemporary fusions of tailoring and streetwear that would still fit in with today’s sensibilities. He mashed typically couture fabrications like silk taffeta in rich hues with denim, and made them relevant and wearable for the everyday. Who could also forget that one collection where Piccioli created his own shade of pink and bathed half of the collection with it, juxtaposed with all-black ensembles.
Then, for Valentino’s Autumn/Winter 2024 menswear collection, it seemed like Piccioli finally had an off moment. Showcased in rooms that were painted a specific shade of azure blue, it was as though he attempted to recreate the Valentino Pink PP magic that had us all enthralled two seasons prior, but without so much as a spark. The collection was so pared back that I was left completely unaware that it was all he had to give. Little did we all know then that he would part ways with the Maison a couple of months later.
Unlike Piccioli’s rather shocking departure, the rumour mill was in overdrive for months with regard to Hedi Slimane’s exit from Celine. It became an unescapable, ongoing topic among editors and insiders—the whats, whys and whens of his leaving. It was almost baffling too because Celine was then on the cusp of finally launching its first makeup line, and it even launched a few new fragrances that were very much Slimane-concocted. The Maison was also doing relatively well, buoyed by the presence of its strong army of ambassadors the likes of Lisa and Park Bogum. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
The exit was confirmed on 2 October. The announcement was short, listing Slimane’s overarching vision for the Maison for the past seven years that saw it expanding into menswear, couture and haute parfumerie. And then within hours, the announcement of Celine’s new artistic director was released. Michael Rider, who had worked under Phoebe Philo during her time at the Maison, is due to make his return.
Those are just three of the major menswear losses. Other recent exits include Glenn Martens out of Y/Project after 11 years, Phillip Lim from his namesake brand, Peter Hawkings’ quick two-collection turn at Tom Ford, and Peter Do from Helmut Lang. The circumstances that led to each are seemingly unique—Y/Project, for example, is experiencing financial troubles—but a creative loss is a loss nonetheless.
There are reasons why the departure of Van Noten, Piccioli and Slimane are especially upsetting. Each have built such strong legacies that they’ve amassed a fair share of admirers and fans—the ones that would turn up to a fashion show proudly bedecked in their creations, and those who have adopted the designers’ aesthetics into their own. Being an ardent fan of one is essentially a lifestyle.
Slimane’s singular vision at Celine was initially met with division. The stark contrast from his predecessor’s more structural forms and cerebral designs had many feeling that Slimane should have started his own brand instead of turning Celine into his own. Yet, the vision evolved and became a universe of its own, extending into a haute parfumerie collection that spawned new categories for the Maison beyond just fashion. The look was consistent: unapologetically Parisian luxe across fashion, beauty, lifestyle accessories and an assortment of curated artistic partnerships.
Change is constant. And while many are rejoicing over Rider’s appointment at Celine (assuming he is intent on bringing back the Philo era), those mourning Slimane’s aesthetic will either have to start binge purchasing his final designs or resort to resale platforms for their fix.
There is absolutely no pleasing everyone in fashion. Even the most celebrated designers have their fair share of critics, especially with fashion being as subjective as it is. But changing in hopes of appealing to a wider demographic is tricky due to a risk in alienating core customer demographiscs; customers who have grown with the visual language set by Piccioli and Slimane for more than five years now have to change with the maisons or divert their attention to a different brand. It’s an unfortunate conundrum as brands prioritise profits over a consistent identity.
Valentino has already begun its new era with Alessandro Michele injecting his own interpretation of what the Maison is. In many ways, it’s a familiar aesthetic to when he was helming Gucci, and has resulted in a reception similar to how Slimane’s initial collection at Celine was initially viewed. And as Slimane has shown, time is needed for a full universe to be realised.
On 9 December 2024, Dries Van Noten announced its new creative lead. Its Spring/Summer 2025 womenswear collection was the first after Van Noten’s retirement and was designed by the in-house studio team. The spirit of the founder was still there and it felt like it could have very well been designed by Van Noten himself, with all the elements that make Dries Van Noten beloved present. But if change is constant, at the very least, there's hope that newly installed creative director Julian Klausner—he's worked alongside Van Noten since 2018 on the women's collections—will continue the legacy beautifully.
At the end of Van Noten’s final show, he walked to the middle of the silver foil runway and waved to a standing ovation. The cube of projections that was the centrepiece of the pre-show cocktails was uncovered and out came a disco ball, spinning with enough speed to completely envelop the space with a kaleidoscope of lights. It’s so good, it’s so good, it’s so good coos Donna Summer as “I Feel Love” starts to play. At the end of the day, change is inevitable and all we can do is embrace it.
The fashion industry is dizzyingly brutal. Just this past May, Swiss luxury brand Bally announced it was parting ways with Rhuigi Villaseñor—the founder and designer of Los Angeles-based brand Rhude. Villaseñor assumed the role of Bally’s creative director in January 2022 and only managed to showcase two collections before getting the boot.
But that’s not even the shortest creative director stint in the past year thus far.
French designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin made his creative directorial debut with a runway collection for Ann Demeulemeester during Paris Fashion Week’s Autumn/Winter 2023 show season. The gender-fluid and skin-baring collection garnered quite a buzzy reception and reportedly prompted stockists the likes of MyTheresa to renew their relationship with the brand. Alas, even before the collection could be realised for retail, Ann Demeulemeester ended de Saint Sernin’s time—a mere two months after his debut runway show.
It is hardly a new phenomenon. The fashion industry has been going through creative directors so quickly and frequently that having one lasting longer than the regular contractual three years can be considered a unicorn. We have seen numerous occasions where creatives have been cycled through as though they were in a game of musical chairs: Anthony Vaccarello replacing Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent making way for the latter’s entry to Celine after Phoebe Philo; Kim Jones departing Louis Vuitton to join Dior Men while its former creative director Kris Van Assche went on to head Berluti; and Riccardo Tisci’s jump from Givenchy to Burberry, only to be replaced by Daniel Lee from Bottega Veneta.
Trust us, to say that all this gets confusing for fashion journalists too, is an understatement.
Change is constant and especially so in fashion. While defining a clear, signature aesthetic is undoubtedly the goal for any brand, big or small, there’s often a delicate balance that creative directors have to strike—crafting a distinguishable look while ensuring a consistent flow of excitement that hopefully translates to increased profits. Lest we forget, fashion is a business. And as much as the industry thrives on new, buzzy ideas, consumer dollars are king and these ideas have to resonate with a buying audience at the end of the day.
Zegna’s Alessandro Sartori—already into his seventh year as artistic director—has proven to be a master at evolving a defined aesthetic. Part of the family-run Zegna Group, Zegna is founded on menswear tailoring backed by the company’s expertise in luxurious fabrics. Sartori’s evolution of the brand’s aesthetic appears to be a shrewd calculation of slow and steady. His debut Spring/Summer 2017 collection kicked things off with a unification of Zegna’s then-different lines while still retaining elements of its core tailoring business. Suiting was matched with inflections of sporty dress that introduced a more relaxed approach to Zegna’s tailoring.
Season after season, the silhouette gradually shifted. Trousers got roomier and outerwear grew to be cut oversized with drop shoulders almost a given on every design. It was after the Covid-19 pandemic that the evolution seemed to have accelerated. Sartori referred to the Autumn/Winter 2021 collection as a representation of being in “a world where the indoor and the outdoor are colliding”, resulting in a softening of traditional tailoring lines and construction, making way for elegant ease that has since remained.
While the sportier Z Zegna offshoot is no longer in production, Zegna has offered collaborations with brands specialising in certain areas of sports. Its latest this past January was one with trail-running shoe brand norda as part of Zegna’s growing Outdoor collection.
Coupled with a thorough rebranding exercise—the brand dropped the first name of its founder and has been going by Zegna as of December 2021, complete with a new logo and coloured signifier—the strategy has paid off. For the first quarter of 2023, Zegna’s reported revenue grew 21.4 per cent year-over-year to EUR271.9 million.
Gucci took a different approach. Its appointment of the relatively unknown Alessandro Michele in 2015 created a seismic shift in an industry where the tried and tested are often favoured. Michele’s clear vision of a more poetic and referential Gucci, marked by an exuberantly excessive styling, was a stark departure from his predecessor’s. It was the dawn of a new era, one that was quickly lapped up by both insiders and consumers alike. Gucci saw a boom like never before, landing at the top of every luxury fashion list imaginable, alongside being Kering Group’s top-performing asset.
Michele’s meteoric ascension and cultural-shifting aesthetic, however, proved to be his downfall. The look that he crafted became so distinct that it eventually fell victim to consumer fatigue. Although Gucci remained Kering Group’s majority revenue earner—it accounted for 52 per cent of the group’s total revenues in 2022—its growth started lagging behind other Kering-owned fashion houses such as Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta.
To his credit, Michele did inject excitement throughout his tenure. Collaborations were plentiful, ranging from a capsule collection with one of South Korea’s top entertainers Kai, to an unprecedented two-pronged partnership with Balenciaga. But at the same time, these contributed to an onslaught of the GG monogram that was central to Michele’s design vocabulary—almost every collection incorporated the motif in some form and it became overwhelming and predictable. To the consumer, it was too much of the same thing.
There’s often so much emphasis on the creative director that the essence of the brand that hired them gets lost. Hiring established figures can thus be a double-edged sword. In the hopes of tapping into their prior commercial successes, brands have handed over their design reins to big name creative directors. But every brand is different, and well-known creatives come packaged with their own signature look, which can be boon or bane. Much like forcing a square peg into a round hole, attempting to adapt and weave a creative’s aesthetic into a brand is hardly a surefire hit.
Burberry lost traces of its Britishness when Riccardo Tisci took over as the brand’s chief creative officer. His goth streetwear leanings—a winning combination throughout a 12-year appointment at Givenchy—were pared back to be remixed into Burberry’s more sartorial heritage. There were the odd spikes and embellishments peppered here and there, animal motifs (another Givenchy-era design trope) and heavy-handed use of streetwear elements that all felt forced. The aim seemed to be to create a new Givenchy, even if the world had already moved on from that particular style.
That’s not to say that having an individual point of view spells disaster. Hedi Slimane’s time at a wholly rebranded Celine mirrors more of his personal style than that of the clean, minimalist leanings built by former creative director Phoebe Philo. A hardcore fanbase and the sheer consistency of his vision helped Celine achieve a revenue exceeding EUR2 billion for 2022—all despite the initial blowback from Philo devotees.
There’s no clear-cut solution because no two fashion brands are exactly alike. Each possesses its own unique set of challenges that require different approaches to strengthen its identity. And it gets compounded if a designer’s stamp has become so intertwined with a brand that they’ve inhabited.
A fashion brand/house should never be buoyed by a sole creative force. As harsh as it may sound, a creative’s time is finite. Ultimately, a brand’s strong, overall narrative has to stay consistent and somewhat untainted by an ever-changing roster of creatives. It’s one of the main reasons why some brands, more than others, continue to thrive despite relatively little creative changes at the top. Hermès, for example, repeatedly doubles down on its storied heritage of artisanship and playfulness with Véronique Nichanian at the helm of the men’s universe since 1988. At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson is still going strong after nine years of formulating a rich emphasis on art and craft. Similarly at Maison Margiela, where creative anonymity was taken over by John Galliano in 2014, the house’s avant-garde storytelling remains at its core.
Slimane-like radical changes are risky. And if done in repeated succession, especially within a short period of time, tend to dilute a brand’s identity. Or worse, confuses consumers. As much as fashion embraces newness and originality (if novelty is even a thing any more) a certain level of consistency is comforting. This is precisely why efforts like those employed by Sartori at Zegna as well as Vaccarello’s iteration of Saint Laurent are working. Both were strategically careful to transition and evolve slowly, thus allowing time for consumers—both existing and prospective—to adjust and follow along on their journeys.
And there’s the crux of it all: Time. It’s something that’s necessary, yet not every creative director is afforded it. A vision—and in relation, the strengthening of brand identity—requires time to be fully realised. Could Bally have expanded its brand narrative if Villaseñor were afforded time? Perhaps.
Gucci is gearing itself for another revival with the appointment of Sabato de Sarno. Like Michele, de Sarno is a relative unknown who had been working under Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli. His debut for Gucci is scheduled for this September. Ann Demeulemeester also opted for a fresh perspective in the form of Stefano Gallici, a designer from within its own ranks.
Here’s hoping that they’re all given time. Or at the very least, are offered much needed creative inspiration in a new house.