Designers Switching Houses & Moving to New Brands

[Creative]

^That would be so crazy after all.

I think retail is in a big crisis. Of course, it is still really succesful money wise, but something feels wrong and it showing extreme fatigue symptoms. Business people want companies to grow by all means but it not sustainable anymore imo. The growth culture is bringing these big brands to desperation. It is OK to make half a billion less sometimes... Brands need time to recover.

It is like feeding chicken with plastic... Yeah, they can get big but is that sustainable? It's more problematic than anything else... I don't know.

Look at Dior... They are at -10% and you have 84374832094 versions of everything season after season, all super logo-ed, all super cheap. Many wannabe hits week after week... It's just tiring. Lose money with dignity, please. It was a huge success, now it's time for others to shine. Your glory days will come back again. It's all circles in fashion.

Same for Gucci... If they hadn't been so greedy, maybe they wouldn't be in this situation. They burnt the brand and now it's impossible to recover. They could've chose to grow in a less desperate way. All they earned, they are loosing it now... Makes no sense to me. But who knows, maybe they know better.

 

[Lola701]

I’m sorry but I don’t believe one bit the rumor of Hedi leaving Celine. It’s like the rumor of Karl leaving Chanel (but never leaving Fendi). It creates conversations but it has to make sense business-wise and personal life wise.

He is at Celine and will probably renew his contract.
Technically, if he had a 5 years contract, he probably already renewed it. If it’s 2 times a 3 year contract, he probably renewed it and beauty was probably part of the package deal.
Either way, if Hedi leaves Celine, I rather see him leaving fashion all together than move elsewhere.

Celine and Loewe are the super champions. Changing the guard right now would be too complicated. They needs to be institutionalized a little bit.

I definitely see JWA take over Vuitton after Nicolas.
@LadyJunon Pilati wouldn’t work for Fendi at all. He is not playful and from what I have heard, the collab with Kim Jones is far from being a success.
Marco de Vincenzo however comes from Fendi. He is good.
Now that he has a little star power, maybe Arnault can pay attention to him.

I’m not really excited about those revolving doors talks because I only really care about 2 things: Kim Jones leaving Fendi and Haider being somewhere!

Pinault can give Saint Laurent to Alexandre Vauthier… But does he has the eye, the vision for it?
Vauthier is a complete designer. And the idea that Karl is one of Vauthier’s favorite designer, that he almost worked for Tom at YSL makes me enjoy the idea!

Galliano back at an LVMH brand? I don’t believe it and it wouldn’t be healthy for him.

 

[gallianostan]

Galliano back at an LVMH brand? I don’t believe it and it wouldn’t be healthy for him.

What about the rumors of John Galliano returning to a LVMH house?

At least the rumor season is in full swing but regardless of what will turn out to be true, I think the luxury fashion houses that are stable, consistent and predictable will probably benefit from all of this the most.

are these real rumours though? or just murmurings created by that one dana thomas article about his rehabilitation? i'm inclined to believe it's just the latter...

even though they don't deserve him, galliano going back to LVMH would be the only thing that could give the fashion industry the electric shock it needs right now. imagine him back at givenchy, his old - but brief - stomping ground. it's less pressure than dior and a great opportunity to remake the house in his own image (again). he's been extraordinary at margiela but the recent show made me realise that it's probably time for him to move on; i don't want him to turn martin's house into a 20s brassaï vaudeville show. i say either let him buy his label back or let him return to givenchy.

but it's likely that neither will happen because i never get what i want!

 

[blueorchid]

I just can't see Galliano at Givenchy, sure he worked there decades ago, but other than that it just... doesn't make sense!!

 

[jeanclaude]

Poor little rich luxury conglomerates! After so many years making profit of selling generic and/or basic stuff, just using the heritage and prestige as an excuse to create value, now they bubble is about to burst.

A lot of execs involved, coming from prestigious schools and jobs...but no one has realized that a name, no matter how big and important, is nothing without good clothes and accessories to lust after.

 

[GoldenPetals]

What I'd do to see Oliver Theyskens at Givenchy. Now that he's got some couture experience, he could work wonders.

 

[LadyJunon]

What I'd do to see Oliver Theyskens at Givenchy. Now that he's got some couture experience, he could work wonders.

At this point, they might as well take the leap and go for an unorthodox choice (and no, not a musician/actress/prostitute).

 

[susseinmcswanny]

I wanna see Yohji at Jacquemus 😍😍😍

 

[Lola701]

i don't want him to turn martin's house into a 20s brassaï vaudeville show. i say either let him buy his label back or let him return to givenchy.

I don’t want him to turn Givenchy back into a brassai Vaudeville show either. Margiela forces him to be modern (at least in RTW). Givenchy would be a total throwback I don’t miss. If I want Vintage Galliano, I have YouTube.

The problem with his own house is that I think it would be very tricky and I don’t know if John is strong again to go through all the trials and tribulations that young brands goes through. His own brand was never profitable and survived thanks to licensing deals. Being at his own house will require a total investment from his part. Someone like Karl was only interested in creating clothes and doing shows. So when his own brand found a formula that worked financially, he backed down from the creative side, only took care of the campaigns, cashed his royalties and did the fun stuff with Chanel and Fendi. John wouldn’t have that window of fresh air.

For me going back to LVMH would be like going back to the scene of a crime or getting back with your cheating lover. Most of the people he left at LVMH are still there. I know people loves him there but we can’t act like something wasn’t broken.

I think it’s better for him to maintain good relationships with Sydney and the Arnault. And that configuration doesn’t involved being associated in a business side.

Plus, Renzo Rosso is so proud to have a direct line to Anna Wintour. She supports his brands now more than ever before. I can see Renzo buy Galliano but what would be the business about?

I’m a pragmatic person. I can’t think about the show. I have to think about product, marketing, brand perception. A brand is a project so…

 

[Lola701]

What I'd do to see Oliver Theyskens at Givenchy. Now that he's got some couture experience, he could work wonders.

Can he do RTW?
As talented as he is, his time at that big stage has passed.
He can do beautiful shows, people appreciate his shows but unfortunately, women are not running for his clothes. And we are not in 1997 where executives are cashing in talent or potential. Many things comes to play in the decision and veteran designers have it harder!

 

[donyan]

I feel sorry for de Sarno, to me he’s just a victim in all of this. I assume he had a very clear brief of what they wanted from him, I cannot imagine they took him for his unique creative vision. Now that it’s clear that that’s not what people want from Gucci it’s obviously his fault. He’s a capable designer with a talent for beautiful, commercial but slightly faceless clothes that could have worked in a number of brands ( Max Mara? Michael Kors? ). It’s just not right for Gucci, especially after Michele. Is this his fault?

 

[tricotineacetat]

Can he do RTW?
As talented as he is, his time at that big stage has passed.
He can do beautiful shows, people appreciate his shows but unfortunately, women are not running for his clothes. And we are not in 1997 where executives are cashing in talent or potential. Many things comes to play in the decision and veteran designers have it harder!

The same question would probably count for Haider Ackermann, though - Despite the momentum and continued endorsement he enjoys in the right circles, his collection was not a success on the retail floor and if anything at all, his men's bomber jackets in crushed velvet or satin gained a bit of popularity among the edgy men's fashion customer.

My problem with both Theyskens and Ackermann was that both their collections were marketed at a too high pricepoint when you compare that with a designer like Dries - just to name another Belgian designer - whose label sits at a more affordable end of the mainline designer brands. Olivier had good day dresses and his pants are usually very well cut, but at a price that high, I don't think an independent niche designer brand has much potential for growth, anyway.

 

[blueorchid]

I feel sorry for de Sarno, to me he’s just a victim in all of this.

A victim?! He's a 40-year-old grown man, not some 20 year old plucked out of nowhere.

 

[gallianostan]

I feel sorry for de Sarno, to me he’s just a victim in all of this.

yes, the poor italian man being paid millions to design clothes is a victim

 

[Kanzai]

If there is anyone i want to comeback to mainstream, that must be Pilati and somehow Haider Ackerman. I think Haider is a designer whose commercial vision is closer to Ghesquière than to Theyskens, his approachs could be very "down to earth", like the collaboration with FILA.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I think the common belief in the early 2000s was that a lot of emerging 'edgy' designers were running their own labels first and foremost to gain a momentum so that they would eventually be snatched up by a big house as a creative director - Opinion leader boutiques like Colette or Maria Luisa in Paris would have a tiny rack or dedicated window for representation sake and since it was common practice to do that on consignment, it didn't really matter if the provided stock sold for as long as the collection was visible during fashion week. Olivier Theyskens and Haider Ackermann fit into that tier and so do a lot of CSM graduates, who had their moment as darlings of the scene. Antony Vaccarello and Julien Dossena were maybe one of the last designers for whom it successfully worked, but since then, a paradigm change has happened - There aren't that many niche fashion houses existing who have a creative director position on offer, which leaves us with the houses owned by LVMH or Kering where a proven track record of strong sales in accessories is a pre-requisite.

 

[Tchi]

I totally believe Miss Tweed. You can tell she has insider info from very good sources and that's what people at top levels are talking about. Sometimes several options are considered and it doesn't mean she's lying if what she says doesn't happen, it's just that the brands went for another direction. But I am sure they are considering Pieter (tbh I don't think it would work) and I am sure Hedi wants to leave on a high note. Sales are going down like crazy (I've never seen something like that in my life) and he doesn't need to be there tbh.

No you can’t tell.
Which top exec in the known of such a thing would go about and tell miss tweed? She’s just reporting gossips that go around since ages

 

[Nimsay]

How can Celine be down when the Saks here in Palm Beach has literally bought everything from Spring Summer including every bag variation. Every small trinket accessories. Everything available it seems. Multiple mens leather jackets, every style of Mens denim… this is the most distributed celine or Hedi has ever been…

 

[Lola701]

The same question would probably count for Haider Ackermann, though - Despite the momentum and continued endorsement he enjoys in the right circles, his collection was not a success on the retail floor and if anything at all, his men's bomber jackets in crushed velvet or satin gained a bit of popularity among the edgy men's fashion customer.

My problem with both Theyskens and Ackermann was that both their collections were marketed at a too high pricepoint when you compare that with a designer like Dries - just to name another Belgian designer - whose label sits at a more affordable end of the mainline designer brands. Olivier had good day dresses and his pants are usually very well cut, but at a price that high, I don't think an independent niche designer brand has much potential for growth, anyway.

For me, Haider can be very pragmatic. Beyond the amazing gowns, he can deliver a believable pantsuit, design some normal looking, boutiques friendly basics like he did at Berluti.
I think pragmatism is something I can get from Haider and we can have some nice balance if he does Couture.

Some designers unfortunately needs a big name. It’s not bad itself. Haider might be one of them…

The same way I don’t think Riccardo’s work would have had the same impact if it wasn’t attached to the name Givenchy.

Olivier is not for the street. And it’s good to have designers like that.
They failed at revamping Poiret years ago. I think maybe giving Carte Blanche to Olivier to have an exclusive, very niche project could have been an idea. A project similar to Schiaparelli, but not Couture.
The thing is that with that kind of project, you needs to think long term, pour money into it to then expect a return and later profits.

The owner of Tod’s is one executive people should admire.

Olivier did Azzaro but clearly, everything was on a budget. There wasn’t any project besides using fashion to push the fragrances and image. But even with that you needs a project. You need real PR to have your clothes on the right people and stuff…

All of that to say that you know who will be the happiest when Haider name will be mentioned….anywhere at this point lol

 

[GoldenPetals]

Isn't Theyskens still at Azzaro? I never understood that pairing.