Designers Switching Houses & Moving to New Brands

[gallianostan]

But... it's not. Why do you want everyone to backtrack? Galliano at Givenchy, Sarah Burton at Givenchy... that's just a retread.

how on earth is "too mcqueen for givenchy" a credible criticism when said designer himself was at the house for several years? as far as most people know, the givenchy codes are: (i) strong tailoring; (i) elegant dressmaking. these are both fields that sarah excels in. and i'm not sure how burton at givenchy would be a "retread" - she was only ever mcqueen's assistant at his own label, not givenchy.

 

[Creative]

Burton is the void… she is zero fashion and she has zero vision. A Virginie Viard before Virginie. She seems nice and she has good technique, but that’s about it.

 

[jeanclaude]

If the LVMH execs think Sarah Burton is "too McQueen"...then it is obvious they did not understand what Alexander McQueen was about at all (and now I can understand his tortured tenure at Givenchy).

 

[PDFSD]

Sarah Burton at Givenchy they will face same problem as McQueen had with Burton, no strong brand communication, no connection with the current market that needs to be moved on a bigger scale to sustain a growing business and brand recognition with a group of core products that have cross over appeal to be come new classics.
So far best case scenario was Tisci at Givenchy that had the dark edge like Mc Queen but gave Givenchy core products that translated to younger and middle age clients some of the items they still sell like Antigona bags and shark boots, she is a good technical design i agree totally, but is she a creative director? NO !

She did a respectable job of keeping McQueen afloat, her at Givenchy will sadly be a Clare Waight Keller 2.0 just with more embroidery and sharper cuts.

 

[Lola701]

If we look at Sarah’s McQueen, it’s closer in spirit and execution to Givenchy than McQueen.
She is not a leading fashion voice but she is a safe voice. Her biggest asset is that her offering is very sharp, consistent and we have to say it, desirable.

Maybe what is the less exciting is that with someone like Sarah, you need to pump the marketing and all. But in reality, she will fit Givenchy in the perfect way.

And I think she embraces that kind of soft feminity that Givenchy embodies in their fragrances. She is complete (McQueen had great bags, footwear and stuff).

Givenchy needs stability!

 

[gallianostan]

i think some TFSers are forgetting the first four or five years after sarah took over mcqueen... there was a complete creative vision. you may not have liked it but the imagination was there, as was lee's spirit. the white a-line dress and combat boot lesbo look was only a feature in the latter half of her solo tenure at the house. as @Lola701 said, givenchy needs stability. what better option that a technically brilliant designer adept at both flou and tailleur? after that, all the house needs is some effective marketing, imaginative visuals and a set of core bags/accessories/shoes to boost sales. it doesn't take a genius merchandiser to accomplish that.

but all in all, i take umbrage most that her being "too mcqueen" would in any way hinder a givenchy appointment. i still don't know what that even means? are desirable, competently constructed tailored separates and dresses now exclusive to just mcqueen? it's such a mindless reason. her vision for women has always been softer, more feminine and most importantly, more SAFE than lee's. is that not exactly what LVMH wants?

 

[tourbillions]

A Virginie Viard before Virginie

i would say her later years are more mgc before mgc. Just without the gigantic Dior marketing budget.

Im not sure what you were seeing but her mcqueen was hyper-focused on her vision and fashion-wise other brands where following her lead. You not liking her vision/designs is a totally different discussion.

 

[Creative]

Which fashion brands were following McQueen by Sarah Burton?

 

[tourbillions]

dior? lol and all those chunky sneakers and giant sleeves

 

[PDFSD]

LV + NG/FW
DIOR + MGC/KJ
CELINE+HS
LOEWE + JWA
FENDI + SF/KJ

All these well performing brands of LVMH (Fendi borderline but still) in general like them or not have a good output of Acc & leather goods mix with RTW and communication /storytelling that is quite clear to the markets and proven to create multiple items that have long shelf life.

Sarah is not one of these Creative Directors that fit in the LVMH profile for a brand like Givenchy in their portfolio, stability is having the above mix going welland not just keeping the seats warm till a more convincing candidate comes along.

She misses crucial parts to be a confident choice or gamble for the group at this moment.
She focused to much on / indulged in dress making and not enough savvy in creating a complete offering and world for the brand.

LVMH hires creative directors that have somewhat of a proven track record that can balance these needs and it can be a hit or miss.

Healthy growth is the focus for LVMH not stability its kiss of death to a brand like Givenchy with weak codes and just potential to have that as starting point or focus.

I don't mind to see her at another brand, but her at Givenchy will be again more of same thing/issues and in 4 years we will talk again about no ID of Givenchy but 2 or 3 collections she did was not bad /had potential etc kind of convo´s .

 

[PDFSD]

Can Galliano Go Home Again?​

Assessing all the endless, yet increasingly plausible, rumors suggesting Galliano’s LVMH homecoming—and where, precisely, he might land.
And if it’s even true…

I would not discount Bernard Arnault’s loyal nature: Galliano — pictured here with Arnault in 2004 — played a large role in the rise of LVMH. Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

Can Galliano Go Home Again?

Assessing the endless, yet increasingly plausible, rumors suggesting Galliano’s LVMH homecoming—and where, precisely, he might land.

puck.news

April 15, 2024

There was plenty to chew on from the Vogue World press conference in Paris back in February: The Place Vendôme coup, the buy-in of both LVMH and the French government, the sheer magnitude of staging such an event in the lead-up to this summer’s Olympics.

Walking out of the Ritz that night, however, all I could think about was the casual conversation I’d witnessed during arrivals between Sidney Toledano—the former C.E.O. of Dior, former head of the LVMH Fashion Group, and current head of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture—and his long-ago designer, John Galliano.
The Maison Margiela creative director was seated on a curved-back sofa with his boyfriend, Alexis Roche, facing out into the gilded Salon Marie-Louise.

It wasn’t surprising that Toledano and Galliano were exchanging pleasantries. I had just previewed the documentary High & Low, the Condé Nast-produced, Kevin Macdonald-directed attempt at charting Galliano’s rise (he was appointed to Givenchy in 1995, and then to Dior), his fall (in 2011, following a drunken, antisemitic rant), and his third act at Margiela.

I wouldn’t say Macdonald did anything to exonerate the designer—his shortcomings are obvious—but the relationship between Toledano and Galliano is carefully, honestly, and vividly depicted. (Galliano’s visit to the Dior archives is the emotional peak.) Toledano’s feelings about Galliano—his addiction, his rants—are more believable than anything else.

---

https://puck.news/hedi-slimane-fate-arnault-succession-effect/

 

[gallianostan]

Can Galliano Go Home Again?​

Assessing all the endless, yet increasingly plausible, rumors suggesting Galliano’s LVMH homecoming—and where, precisely, he might land.
And if it’s even true…

I would not discount Bernard Arnault’s loyal nature: Galliano — pictured here with Arnault in 2004 — played a large role in the rise of LVMH. Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

Can Galliano Go Home Again?

Assessing the endless, yet increasingly plausible, rumors suggesting Galliano’s LVMH homecoming—and where, precisely, he might land.

puck.news

April 15, 2024

There was plenty to chew on from the Vogue World press conference in Paris back in February: The Place Vendôme coup, the buy-in of both LVMH and the French government, the sheer magnitude of staging such an event in the lead-up to this summer’s Olympics.

Walking out of the Ritz that night, however, all I could think about was the casual conversation I’d witnessed during arrivals between Sidney Toledano—the former C.E.O. of Dior, former head of the LVMH Fashion Group, and current head of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture—and his long-ago designer, John Galliano.
The Maison Margiela creative director was seated on a curved-back sofa with his boyfriend, Alexis Roche, facing out into the gilded Salon Marie-Louise.

It wasn’t surprising that Toledano and Galliano were exchanging pleasantries. I had just previewed the documentary High & Low, the Condé Nast-produced, Kevin Macdonald-directed attempt at charting Galliano’s rise (he was appointed to Givenchy in 1995, and then to Dior), his fall (in 2011, following a drunken, antisemitic rant), and his third act at Margiela.

I wouldn’t say Macdonald did anything to exonerate the designer—his shortcomings are obvious—but the relationship between Toledano and Galliano is carefully, honestly, and vividly depicted. (Galliano’s visit to the Dior archives is the emotional peak.) Toledano’s feelings about Galliano—his addiction, his rants—are more believable than anything else.

---

Hedi’s Fate & The Arnault Succession Effect

fingers crossed

 

[gallianostan]

full article:

There was plenty to chew on from the Vogue World press conference in Paris back in February: The Place Vendôme coup, the buy-in of both LVMH and the French government, the sheer magnitude of staging such an event in the lead-up to this summer’s Olympics. Walking out of the Ritz that night, however, all I could think about was the casual conversation I’d witnessed during arrivals between Sidney Toledano—the former C.E.O. of Dior, former head of the LVMH Fashion Group, and current head of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture—and his long-ago designer, John Galliano. The Maison Margiela creative director was seated on a curved-back sofa with his boyfriend, Alexis Roche, facing out into the gilded Salon Marie-Louise.

It wasn’t surprising that Toledano and Galliano were exchanging pleasantries. I had just previewed the documentary High & Low, the Condé Nast-produced, Kevin Macdonald-directed attempt at charting Galliano’s rise (he was appointed to Givenchy in 1995, and then to Dior), his fall (in 2011, following a drunken, antisemitic rant), and his third act at Margiela. I wouldn’t say Macdonald did anything to exonerate the designer—his shortcomings are obvious—but the relationship between Toledano and Galliano is carefully, honestly, and vividly depicted. (Galliano’s visit to the Dior archives is the emotional peak.) Toledano’s feelings about Galliano—his addiction, his rants—are more believable than anything else.

I didn’t expect the film to facilitate Galliano’s return to the LVMH fold—an idea first sparked by Dana Thomas, the fashion journalist and Galliano biographer, in March. At the time, I dismissed the Galliano-to-LVMH chatter, if only because it didn’t make financial sense. But after hearing much more of the same speculation from sources I trust, I’m convinced that his return is possible, though hardly preordained.

The challenge with Galliano is that his creative direction is best suited to an earlier time, when the spectacle of the runway was enough to fuel sales of ancillary products—handbags, makeup, fragrance, etcetera. Today, runway shows have to drive sales of what’s actually on the runway, too. Galliano’s current posting at Margiela works for owner Renzo Rosso, in part, because the brand is already expertly merchandised. Having a critically lauded designer at the fore—even if his designs are but a small part of the commercial offering—is worth the marketing expense. The decade-long investment bore fruit with January’s magnificent-by-most-accounts Artisanal show. And for what it’s worth, people close to Rosso refuse to entertain the idea that Galliano could be leaving.

Today, LVMH requires something different from its creative directors than what OTB has required of Galliano. They are product designers and marketers first, and, if we’re lucky, big thinkers, too. (As I’ve mentioned, the platonic ideal for fashion insiders is Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson: creative, commercial, and confident.) And yet, the notion that LVMH and Galliano are hatching a plan to get back together continues to gain steam, with speculation that the designer has met with LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault regarding a potential reunion.

If there were to be a reconciliation, I could imagine it unfolding in several ways. One scenario is that LVMH would bring Galliano back to revive the John Galliano brand, which is all but dormant. In that case, LVMH could strike an agreement with OTB, Rosso’s holding company that owns Margiela, for him to design both lines. It’s not such a crazy idea: Karl Lagerfeld famously worked for Chanel and LVMH, designing Fendi womenswear, for decades. The difference is that Lagerfeld loved the industry’s hamster-wheel, while Galliano blames it for his self-destruction. It’s difficult to believe he’d be willing to re-engage in that way.

Another possibility is that Galliano would leave Margiela to dedicate himself to his namesake, with the intention of finishing his career there. Or perhaps, most intriguing, he might return to Givenchy, where he started his ascent, and which is currently without a creative director. (There were murmurs that Givenchy would promote an unknown from within, but I’m hearing that is no longer the plan.)

It would be an epic, full-circle end to the drama, and Galliano may indeed be what Givenchy needs: a designer who can make elegant clothing while someone else figures out the accessories business. Regardless of what happens, I would not discount Arnault’s loyal nature. Galliano played a large role in the rise of LVMH, and he knows that.

Just look at the way Arnault has managed the Marc Jacobs brand in the decade after Jacobs served his time at Louis Vuitton. While there were many mistakes made in the five years following Jacobs’ departure from LV, Arnault and his team eventually organized Marc Jacobs in such a way that the designer was able to design freely while others took the irreverence that made him special and created a commercial plan around it. Jacobs is particularly suited for this arrangement—he knows how to play the game. Has Galliano learned?

 

[style_expert]

This corresponds with the other rumors I heard about Galliano returning to LVMH.
It's clear Galliano has been in a redemption mode for a while, with his documentary, his glorious Artisanal collection and Anna Wintour's continued support. The focus has clearly shifted away from Galliano's past moments of misbehavior.

I think the timing to for the announcement would possibly be ill-suited now given the state of the world but yes, him re-joining Givenchy is possibly one of the very few good options LVMH has for the house.
I don't see any merit in re-launching the John Galliano brand though, which would be a complete waste of money and talent no matter how you spin it.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Irdgi, what does going back to LVMH have to do with redemption? Go "home"?? Why on earth would you want to go where creativity goes to literally die. If he left Margiela for Givenchy that'd be the most uninspiring flatlining thing he's ever done. These people make me want to throw up

 

[susseinmcswanny]

That pic itself is so gross too with Arnault standing over him as the big bad wolf and Sidney Toledano back there looking like a greedy vulture

 

[PDFSD]

The challenge with Galliano is that his creative direction is best suited to an earlier time, when the spectacle of the runway was enough to fuel sales of ancillary products—handbags, makeup, fragrance, etcetera. Today, runway shows have to drive sales of what’s actually on the runway, too

This part the writer is not factual :as JG Dior RTW fashion shows had a lot of looks and items in store from show looks : knits and slip dresses and bar jackets from the shows in store including the commercial variations on top of it .....its was a different time true but there was merch even then.... bags included besides the saddle and lady dior

HC dior was extreme and clients changed the looks to fit there needs as usual still the case even at Chanel

Dislike allot when reporters are not accurate just to drive their point across

Spectacle of the runway is still part of the game, it still serves to fuel desire of brand and give direction drive the narrative give chapters to the brand's role out of marketing ideas, not just ancillary products—handbags, makeup, fragrance,some times the ad campaigns and windows and special packaging etcetera as well this did not change.

 

[gallianostan]

some context:

 

[Salvatore]

I am crying right now

some context:

I am seriously about to cry watching this. This touched and broke my heart. I felt the love, passion, and fascination he had for making beautiful pieces through the screen. John made us FEEL. I wish Dior would let him design like one haute couture collection or something for old times' sake !

 

[Creative]

Tbh, I couldn’t stand Galliano’s last years at Dior, but felt super sorry for how LMVH treated him at the end. It was such a shame.

I would never come back after all that if I were John, but I guess they will offer him a lot of money.