The great comeback of design assistants

Chemena Kamali, Sabato De Sarno, Davide Renne, Sean McGirr and Peter Hawkings: the new creative directors are all luxury veterans. In the last two years, fashion has seen numerous changes of guard, both in the case of CEO direction, with the example of Marco Bizzarri's farewell to Gucci, and in that of artistic direction. But while some brands have seen the arrival of young creatives at their helm such as Rhuigi Villaseñor from Bally and Ludovic de Saint Sernin from Ann Demeulemeester, (both of whom have already been released from their posts) or well-established pop culture figures such as Pharrell from Louis Vuitton Men, luxury groups have preferred to draw from the in-house talent in the ateliers of their maisons. Chloé, Gucci, Moschino, Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford have all chosen their new creative directors on the basis of their pre-existing ties with the brands. Some say now is the time for the comeback of the fashion assistants, the perfect storm for former style department designers to shine, but it seems that the decision is more part of a well-planned strategy by the luxury conglomerates in view of the worsening economic crisis and the consequent drop in consumer purchasing power. At a time of total disarray, both financially and socially, these new appointments represent the wisest choice for brands that need product-focused, rather than narrative-focused, collections to heal the fashion system's worrying state.

Tom Ford SS24

Tom Ford SS24

Tom Ford SS24

Gucci SS24

Gucci SS24

Gucci SS24

The background of all new creative directors in luxury fashion includes experience in the style offices of the world's most famous maisons, if not in those of the brands that have just hired them. If Walter Chiapponi will indeed be appointed as the new artistic director of Blumarine, the designer will find himself in the same atelier as a few years earlier; Davide Renne, before being called to replace Jeremy Scott at Moschino, worked for twenty years with both Alessandro Michele and Frida Giannini; Peter Hawkings designed alongside Tom Ford for a good twenty-five years before taking over his role; Sabato De Sarno, now at Gucci, worked alongside Pierpaolo Piccioli for fourteen, while Chloé's new creative director Chemena Kamali knew the maison's atelier from the days of Phoebe Philo and Clare Waight Keller, her former bosses. Despite his young age, Alexander McQueen's new artistic director, 35-year-old Sean McGirr, also demonstrates an impressive career, having held positions as head of menswear at JW Anderson and assistant at Burberry and Dries Van Noten.

Bottega Veneta FW24

Bottega Veneta FW24

Bottega Veneta SS24

Bottega Veneta SS24

What all these new appointments imply is that luxury is going through a period of change that is frightening, for CEOs as well as for agglomeration presidents. During a historical period marked by imposing uncertainties, such as the escalation of the wars between Palestine and Israel and between Russia and Ukraine, the economic slowdown of superpowers like China and the United States, and the debilitating effects of climate change on every sector of commerce, fashion is changing face, shifting its focus away from fantastical imaginaries and dream-driven designers towards useful products and pragmatic art directors. Choosing to appoint personalities with a well-established past in the world of luxury, the brands follow the example of Bottega Veneta and Matthieu Blazy, a pairing that since 2020 has proven to be a success in terms of both economic and artistic productivity. Prior to his role as design director of the maison, Blazy had worked for Raf Simons, Maison Martin Margiela, Céline and Calvin Klein, the ultimate proof that to secure a place in the Olympus of luxury, you need steady wings, preferably patented in one of the Kering or LVMH ateliers. Of all these new appointments, what certainly emerges is the leading function that meritocracy continues to play in the fashion industry, despite social media's rising pressure. At the same time, it is to be hoped that these new appointees, once in the backstage of Fashion Week, will still be able to produce inspiring collections without feeling hampered by the pedantic anxieties of CEOs.