Designers Switching Houses & Moving to New Brands

[gallianostan]

Only if they fire Seàn.

fire him from a ww2 canon into outer space, yes

 

[GivenchyHomme]

Only if they fire Seàn.

Kering is making one terrible decision after another. Every strategy they've implemented in the past year has been a total failure. Why they hired Sean is a mystery. Based on the reaction to that first collection, it's safe to say sales figures are going to be disastrous. All I have to say is whatever happens to Kering next will be of their own doing.

 

[Creative]

^I totally agree with you, but these days bad reviews and reactions no longer mean bad results. Look at YSL by Hedi, at the beginning the reviews were horrible.

I might be wrong but I think they might grow a little bit the first year (maybe a 2%), but then it will fall…

 

[Alquimista]

old news? his recent show (which i wasn't even a fan of) has almost 2M views on youtube. there's like a hundred think-pieces and articles about how it was one of the best shows in years (again, disagree). "old news" isn't true and you know it. this is an infinitesimal minority opinion.

social media is not real life. and it doesn't always translate into sales. That show showed us in tfs that he can still put on a show, and showed to the masses what a fashion used to be. But that's it.

what I'm saying is that CEOs probably are not interested in him, and Galliano don't want to work under that much pressure again.

 

[Olaffo]

For some reason I still believe that the delay in Givenchy’s CD appointment is dictated by SB non - compete clause. For the company of that size and expectations, still somehow being on the map and recognisable every day without an associated person (let alone every skipped season) is just a loss of money. I don’t think suits are doing it just to pick someone “right” but rather wait for the “right” person to be available.

 

[Lola701]

social media is not real life. and it doesn't always translate into sales. That show showed us in tfs that he can still put on a show, and showed to the masses what a fashion used to be. But that's it.

what I'm saying is that CEOs probably are not interested in him, and Galliano don't want to work under that much pressure again.

While his Margiela is successful, that success is indeed independent of the response of the collections. Sure, John maintain the aura of the house thanks to the creativity and things are handled perfectly in terms of merchandising but he has yet presented a HIT RTW collection that had a direct impact on sales indeed.

This Couture collection had an impact on social media for John and for the brand. But, we are still waiting for the follow-up.

They are not presenting Couture in July but nothing was said about RTW. Margiela can still hold a show in July in the wake of the buzz of the Couture and then we will see the impact.

John is a genius but I think all the frenzy around on social media is rooted in nostalgia and not in what fashion should be moving forward.

I personally think that because of the nature of Margiela, John has more opportunity to move fashion forward than he will at Givenchy. Let’s be honest, the partition that was played in January would look like a broken record after a while at a Couture house.

 

[gallianostan]

For some reason I still believe that the delay in Givenchy’s CD appointment is dictated by SB non - compete clause. For the company of that size and expectations, still somehow being on the map and recognisable every day without an associated person (let alone every skipped season) is just a loss of money. I don’t think suits are doing it just to pick someone “right” but rather wait for the “right” person to be available.

i think it's ridiculous it's taking them this long to decide. it's almost as though they don't care about the house. it's just an afterthought now.

 

[Thefrenchy]

John is a genius but I think all the frenzy around on social media is rooted in nostalgia and not in what fashion should be moving forward.

Couldn't agree more.

Many got excited following that Couture moment because it was like a flashback to those years when Fashion felt more daring and unexpected (for a number of reasons I won't list but we all know). John is one of the last remaining symbols of those years, and he gave us an echo of that past.

He has been through a journey, and so has the industry. Margiela seems to be where he found peace, with a sort of "no expectations" kind of situation. Everyone enjoys watching those Artisanal shows to see John at work with his signature style and environment - but from what I know, nobody's rushing to Margiela stores to buy John's pieces. And it's fine like this in my books. Let him be a couturier and show skills that most of today's designers are lacking. He's done enough for this industry.

In the end, I'm not sure I'd wish him to go anywhere else and experience, once again, the pressure of having to deliver and wake another brand from the dead.

 

[Lola701]

i think it's ridiculous it's taking them this long to decide. it's almost as though they don't care about the house. it's just an afterthought now.

It actually shows that they cares…
They are taking their time because as I said before, stability will be the key.
Givenchy is not a top priority (they are not even a 1b brand) now and even if it has downsized, it’s still probably making enough money to function like this.

Let’s hope now that the next CD will reflect the time put to decide.

Kenzo is the brand they don’t really care about IMO. It’s just there. They don’t know what to do with it. They keeps making bad castings.

But now, the top priority will be Celine, if indeed Mr Slimane leaves.

 

[Creative]

Interesting discussion. I loved Galliano when I was a child and I do think he had a lot of talent, but he offered what he had to offer in the 00s. He has not been relevant for the last 16 years or so. It’s hard for a designer to be relevant for more than 10 years, and his case is not an exception.

I never got the appeal of his Margiela. His famous show under the bridge did nothing for me, it felt really old and anachronistic (the make up was amazing tho).

I doubt any fashion brand still wants him.

It’s the same for Riccardo. He did some cool things here and there chez Givenchy, but I can’t see him in any brand anymore. His works feels old and not relevant anymore… like it was very lair du temps for a while, but I can’t see people falling in love with it again. It’s just life.

On another note, as Lola said, Givenchy is not that important for LVMH. They could be like this for 2 years if they wanted to. They don’t do much money and little the money they make it’s because of the fugly boots, which still sell very well (I can’t understand it, but they generate 50% of their revenue).

I hope they go for an unknown.

 

[tourbillions]

no matter how less they care about the brand im sure its not ideal to be without a creative director for this long. fashion is such a fast moving business and once they are forgotten, they will have a hard time to bring it back. The sales now cant be only a few percent lower than the sales during the bambi/antigona times to leave it without a CD for this long. its not some totally unknown brand, they're very lucky that Celine boomed during Givenchy's downfall.

I would understand the carelessness with Kenzo as it is bordering between "contemporary" and high street. It probably needs a totally different strategy than a real luxury house.

 

[Gaultier_Bandit]

^I totally agree with you, but these days bad reviews and reactions no longer mean bad results. Look at YSL by Hedi, at the beginning the reviews were horrible.

I might be wrong but I think they might grow a little bit the first year (maybe a 2%), but then it will fall…

With Heidi tho…the reviews were bad mostly because his clothes challenged everyones expectations. The clothes by themselves were quite beautiful in real life. Same cannot be said for McQ

 

[Kimihiro]

With Heidi tho…the reviews were bad mostly because his clothes challenged everyones expectations. The clothes by themselves were quite beautiful in real life. Same cannot be said for McQ

I don’t know what people here thought but when Hedi Saint Laurent was launching you just know it will sell, and there was enthusiasm and desire for it. You know it will lead to something huge. Sean’s McQueen debut fizzled right when the show curtain closed.

 

[Lola701]

no matter how less they care about the brand im sure its not ideal to be without a creative director for this long. fashion is such a fast moving business and once they are forgotten, they will have a hard time to bring it back. The sales now cant be only a few percent lower than the sales during the bambi/antigona times to leave it without a CD for this long. its not some totally unknown brand, they're very lucky that Celine boomed during Givenchy's downfall.

I would understand the carelessness with Kenzo as it is bordering between "contemporary" and high street. It probably needs a totally different strategy than a real luxury house.

Even if his tenure felt like totally insignificant, Givenchy is only without a CD for 5 months.
The prestige of the house is preserved despite two unsuccessful tenures.

On paper, this should be the perfect time for them to edit their products offering, pull things dowin from the archives, redesign key products.

But nothing will be done I guess.

Givenchy needs a strong proposition. It’s almost a miracle that Riccardo’s stuff is still selling.
And from what the Williams era told us, Streetwear is nothing without a cultural weight.

 

[Creative]

Dior didn’t have a CD for way longer, right? 5 months is not much… it’s ok not to rush. It’s a super small brand, nothing to worry about.

 

[PDFSD]

^I totally agree with you, but these days bad reviews and reactions no longer mean bad results. Look at YSL by Hedi, at the beginning the reviews were horrible.

I might be wrong but I think they might grow a little bit the first year (maybe a 2%), but then it will fall…

True that journalistic negative reviews or negative online reactions don't always correlate with bad sales but post dior homme Hedi first shows YSL and Celine always got bad press because of his ways of not kneeling to the fashion press mafia, then fueled by childish notes on fonts and accents outcry etc

But Hedi had always some core fanbase that supported sales and he is always commercial in his broad scale offerings, but you can't compare Hedi with the likes of Sean etc because there is no strong foundation nor clear convection of style within a concept to market and push constantly.

 

[PDFSD]

i think it's ridiculous it's taking them this long to decide. it's almost as though they don't care about the house. it's just an afterthought now.

I think it's the opposite they are wanting to make sure that who is selected next has the best chance to make it work long term remember LV mens was a little over a year since the passing of Louis Vuitton's late artistic director, Virgil Abloh, even if some shows was under his name they took their time.

 

[Alquimista]

While his Margiela is successful, that success is indeed independent of the response of the collections. Sure, John maintain the aura of the house thanks to the creativity and things are handled perfectly in terms of merchandising but he has yet presented a HIT RTW collection that had a direct impact on sales indeed.

This Couture collection had an impact on social media for John and for the brand. But, we are still waiting for the follow-up.

They are not presenting Couture in July but nothing was said about RTW. Margiela can still hold a show in July in the wake of the buzz of the Couture and then we will see the impact.

John is a genius but I think all the frenzy around on social media is rooted in nostalgia and not in what fashion should be moving forward.

I personally think that because of the nature of Margiela, John has more opportunity to move fashion forward than he will at Givenchy. Let’s be honest, the partition that was played in January would look like a broken record after a while at a Couture house.

Yes. He hasn't made a big fashion moment - think the miu miu microskirt, for example. Margiela is more about his criativity, process, etc, than doing something women would kill for. As I said, he's out of that game imo.

I wonder if that show was a push for him to garner more attention for the brand. And if yes, does that mean they want to expand, sell more?

I don't understand why people want him to design for a big brand again. He probably is happy just designing his clothes and going to bed. lol

 

[PDFSD]

READY FOR HEDI ITS ALREADY HEDI !!!! CC IS THE WAY FORWARD 🤭

 

[tourbillions]

lol i totally forgot givenchy has been without a cd for only a few months. it feels like its been years.