What Can Fashion Learn From the Creative Director Revolving Door of 2023?

By our count, there were at least 31 switch-ups at the highest level of the creative ladder in luxury fashion over the course of 2023. Sabato de Sarno joined Gucci, and Jeremy Scott left Moschino; Pharrell Williams joined Louis Vuitton mens, and Bruno Sialelli left Lanvin; Peter Do joined Helmut Lang, and Gabriela Hearst left Chloé.

In some cases, we saw the departure of longstanding leaders — Scott at Moschino, Tom Ford at Tom Ford, Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen — making way for a completely new chapter at storied houses. (Davide Renne was named as Scott's replacement, but tragically passed away mere weeks into his new job at Moschino. Longtime Tom Ford designer Peter Hawkings ascended to the top role after nearly 25 years at the company. JW Anderson and Dries van Noten alum Seán McGirr is taking over for Burton.) While the three-year tenure trend has continued in many cases (see: Hearst, Matthew Williams at Givenchy, Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby at Trussardi), we're also seeing quicker turnaround: Charles de Vilmorin left Rochas after two years, Rhuigi Villaseñor left Bally after a year and a half, Ludovic de Saint Sernin left Ann Demeulemeester after just six months.

"It's not unusual to have some musical chairs, but this is an extreme year for changes," Robert Burke, chairman and CEO of luxury consultancy Robert Burke Associates, confirms. "I really feel that part of it is that, the bigger the brand, the more control they want to have and the more is at stake, from a business standpoint, when you bring in a new creative director."

A lot of these creative director contracts run three years, and a brand or an individual might choose not to renew. According to Burke, by the two-year mark, you should know if it's going to work.

"You're certainly going to know [if you can] commit to someone — beyond that is risky," he says. "I would say after two years, there needs to be a pretty definite path of direction and success."

When Alessandro Michele ascended to the Gucci throne as a previously-unknown internal hire in 2015 and subsequently transformed the brand under his commercially successful vision, it set off an industry trend. Many luxury fashion houses began to tap into their existing talent pools, promoting designers already working in their studios to take the helm, versus bringing in already-established names. Bottega Veneta has seen success with its promotion of Matthieu Blazy. Tom Ford took that approach with Hawkins, as did Ann Demuelemeester with Stefano Gallici — though it remains to be seen how their respective debut collections will perform once Spring 2024 hits retailers.

The way Burke sees it, there are three tiers of risk when it comes to creative director hires: "Low risk would be bringing someone from in-house, who's worked for the brand and understands the culture. Medium risk is someone who has some profile, but isn't super high-profile. The highest risk would be bringing in someone extremely well-known as a designer, who already has an aesthetic and has a preference on creative and advertising — it can be extremely successful or extremely flat and unsuccessful, but it's highly public."

We could probably qualify de Sarno, McGirr and Chemena Kamali (who joined Chloé in the fall) as "medium risk," within these parameters, as designers who have already worked in the industry and risen up the ranks at different brands, but were perhaps not as widely recognized by the public. However, this kind of hire can create another issue, as best illustrated by a 1 Granary graphic posted in the wake of McGirr's hiring, which starkly highlighted how the creative directors of all six of Kering's fashion houses were white men. ("Not just white male designers, but white male designers with practically the same haircuts, approach to facial hair and résumés," as Vanessa Friedman iconically wrote in The New York Times.)

In 2023, fashion houses are "more nervous," given the economic climate coming out of a period of growth and the various geopolitical conflicts, Burke argues. That can make executives risk-averse, and desperate to recreate that Michele-for-Gucci magic — "a tremendous success for being an unknown designer at the time."

Historically, pedigree was what really mattered: where you went to school, where you cut your teeth, who you worked under. That can still factor into hiring, but there are plenty of other considerations on the minds of fashion executives. Take, for instance, what Burke considers to be one of the big successes of 2023's reshuffling.

"A very smart move was Pharrell — it was incredibly well-executed," he says, noting how he came to Louis Vuitton with a history in fashion and an established taste level. "Some of the houses are realizing that appointing a creative director is as much about visibility and driving traffic as it is just someone that can drape and sketch. It was always thought of as, 'You need someone that's classically trained, that studied design, that worked at houses. For many of the bigger things, they have that in-house already, so, in some ways, they're looking for someone to be a face of the brand, someone that can bring more eyeballs to the brand."

The truth is, "there's no surefire way guaranteed," Burke adds: "There are some brands that are succeeding enormously, like Loro Piana, which is growing in leaps and bounds but doesn't necessarily put a face out there."

Of course, constant designer switch-ups aren't ideal for brands, whether they happen after two seasons or three years. "That causes confusion," Burke explains. "It's hard for the consumer to handle it or to understand it. It could have a negative effect because the customer might be devoted, but they don't want to feel that they're investing in a brand that's going to be obsolete or inconsistent. If you look at Anthony Vaccarello at YSL, that's a very, very good example of a designer who has succeeded with some real consistency — the brand's grown enormously under his creative direction. There's no doubt that there's more value with stability than instability."

Whenever a new designer is named at a house, there's a transition period between their first day on the job and the day their product is actually available for purchase. This is partly dictated by production: "If there's a big existing handbag or accessory businesses, those take time to develop," Burke says. "It's going to be nine months to a year to really make those changes in accessories; ready-to-wear can be relatively quick. It's more about creative directors having a sense of the brand, and also the brand wanting to have more control over the creative directors than in the past."

This timeline is trickier nowadays, though, due to the immediacy with which we consume fashion, as well as the access people have to designers (and their personal opinions) through social media.

"Everyone is a fashion critic — if you have an iPhone, you're a fashion critic," Burke argues. "Ten years ago, there were eight or 10 very important fashion critics, and people would wait to read the reviews and understand what this or that publication thought. Today, everything is at lightning speed, and houses are being judged and evaluated instantaneously... The consumer sees something on a runway and, by the time it actually hits the stores, it's well-known or they're even kind of over it sometimes."

The new year will bring with it a string of debuts: Kamali for Chloé, McGirr for McQueen, Alessandro Vigilante at Rochas, Walter Chiapponi for Blumarine (after leaving Tod's in July, replacing Nicola Brognano) and Matteo Tamburini at Tod's (replacing Chiapponi) will be ones to watch for Fall 2024. There's still uncertainty surrounding Moschino and Givenchy, and a slate of creative directors (including Michele, Burton and Scott) who haven't yet landed elsewhere or announced their own ventures. Meanwhile, Stuart Vevers just celebrated 10 years at Coach, and Nicolas Ghesquière renewed his decade-strong contract at Louis Vuitton — so there are still examples of longevity in the role. Let's just see how the 2023 moves shake out.

2023 exits

Louise Trotter left Lacoste after four years
Jeremy Scott left Moschino after 10 years
Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby left Trussardi after three years
Burno Sialelli left Lanvin after four years
Charles de Vilmorin left Rochas after two years
Rhuigi Villaseñor left Bally after a year and a half
Ludovic de Saint Sernin left Ann Demeulemeester after six months
Christian Juul Nielsen left Hervé Leger after five years
Gabriela Hearst left Chloé after three years
Walter Chiapponi left Tod's after four years
Marcus Wainwright left Rag & Bone after 21 years
Tremaine Emory left Supreme after a year and a half
Sarah Burton left Alexander McQueen after 13 years
Nicola Brognano left Blumarine after four years
Matthew Williams left Givenchy after three years

2023 hires

Sabato de Sarno joined Gucci
Pharrell Williams joined Louis Vuitton Men's
Louise Trotter joined Carven
Peter Hawkins promoted at Tom Ford
Peter Do joined Helmut Lang
Simone Bellotti joins Bally
Stefano Gallici promoted at Ann Demeulemeester 
Michelle Ochs joined Hervé Leger
Chemena Kamali joined Chloé
Sean McGirr joined Alexander McQueen
Walter Chiapponi joined Blumarine
Matteo Tamburini joined Tod's
Alessandro Vigilante joined Rochas

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