History of the myth of the creative director And how we've become obsessed with the artistic lineage of brands

There is an ever-growing difference between the designers of the past and today’s creative directors. Whereas in the past, only the most outward aspects of figures such as Yves Saint Laurent or Valentino were known, the designers who now lead major Maisons live much more public lives. A new trend that has emerged in recent years is to reconstruct not only the private lives of these celebrity designers, but also to build their myth from the very beginning.

And while in the past a designer’s success seemed more immediate (after this or that relatively low-profile job, they would found a brand and achieve fame almost immediately), today the mechanisms of the industry are better understood. Just think of the backstage photos that are so frequently published during and after a show at Fashion Week, something that decades ago would only happen on very special occasions. But understanding the evolution of the designer myth or of the way we perceive it also means understanding the evolution of fashion and the way it is woven into contemporary culture.