Designers Switching Houses & Moving to New Brands

[mteb123]

Please Kim Jones is not needed at Balenciaga… I’m sincerely hoping it’s just a rumour and nothing more… KJ is just Blahh as a designer to me… I found his time at Dior mens and Fendi both very tiresome… The thought of having to endure him at Balenciaga just when we thought we were free after the trash that was left… Galliano would’ve been perfect, or hell I would’ve taken Ricardo at Balenciaga… Anyone rather than banal of a designer that is KJ!!

 

[Kanzai]

John Galliano at Kering is such a waste, and Riccardo Tisci in 2025 lol, he has failed for so long...but if it's him, idc

 

[Lola701]

Kim Jones just coming off Dior/Fendi is not necessarily the best asset. Given the fact that he comes from Margiela and that Balenciaga has been so Margiela-ized, John doesn’t seems like an extreme idea even if I’m not sure that Kering will have the time to « cuddle » someone like John the way Renzo Rosso did.
Riccardo is a safe bet. He can do it all, he has the talent, possibly some things to say still. His last Burberry collection was great. Commercial HIT or not aside, he is not a bad designer.

But I feel like Kering would be cheap and take another young designer.

Seriously, I would rather have Martine Rose as the CD of Vuitton menswear tbh.

 

[tourbillions]

how did tisci fail for so long... his burberry did not do terrible compared to the mess we have been seeing these days. And we have seen only 2 ricardo. Givenchy and Burberry; even then Burberry was always gonna be a bad fit but somehow it wasn't terrible. That was like john galliano going to michael kors. a couturier in a mostly mid rtw brand. And these days the streetwear are still heavily tisci-coded. He should really have gone to gucci instead of demna.

His next appointment I think will dictate for me if he is really a has-been or still has something left. I want to see his couture back.

 

[Kanzai]

^ Frankly, I couldn’t care less whether Tisci retires or ends up taking over another fashion house, it just doesn’t matter to me. Sure, he had some moments at Givenchy, I won’t deny that. But those moments were never enough to convince me that he’s some visionary or outstanding designer, or anything close to that.

I also can’t wrap my head around why so many people seem to think their taste is superior just because they believe Tisci is better than Demna in every way, which, let’s be clear, he absolutely isn’t. And people really need to stop pretending like his influence over the past decade has been anywhere near as significant as Phoebe’s, Hedi’s, or even Ghesquière’s ( his hey days were mid-late 2000s ).

Tisci is one of those designers who rose to fame largely thanks to connections. I’m not saying he doesn’t have talent, but honestly, I’d bet his reputation wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for that stroke of luck and relationships. Vetements didn't need Kanye, Kim or large stylists, photographers etc to make them a big force in the 2010s, you just can't deny that fact.

 

[Kimihiro]

If anything, and I say this as a bystander, Tisci’s impact for me was legitimizing streetwear in high fashion. That was it, the influence. Unfortunately that reality is far away now.

 

[Xone]

Yes he is...so you can expect to see gold Schiaparelli brass angel wings in the next show LOL

I thought it was Mel's Ottenberg boyfriend...

 

[Xone]

Alexandre Vauthier has been pushed out of his eponymous brand:

can anyone share the article? so sorry for him....what happened and what will happen to him???

 

[tourbillions]

^ Frankly, I couldn’t care less whether Tisci retires or ends up taking over another fashion house, it just doesn’t matter to me. Sure, he had some moments at Givenchy, I won’t deny that. But those moments were never enough to convince me that he’s some visionary or outstanding designer, or anything close to that.

I also can’t wrap my head around why so many people seem to think their taste is superior just because they believe Tisci is better than Demna in every way, which, let’s be clear, he absolutely isn’t. And people really need to stop pretending like his influence over the past decade has been anywhere near as significant as Phoebe’s, Hedi’s, or even Ghesquière’s ( his hey days were mid-late 2000s ).

Tisci is one of those designers who rose to fame largely thanks to connections. I’m not saying he doesn’t have talent, but honestly, I’d bet his reputation wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for that stroke of luck and relationships. Vetements didn't need Kanye, Kim or large stylists, photographers etc to make them a big force in the 2010s, you just can't deny that fact.

You really think vetements would have been considered as a serious fashion brand without tiscis givenchy?

 

[Kanzai]

^Excuse me? Their sensibilities are nothing alike. Vetements’ success was partly thanks to their stylist Lotta, and Demna was clearly heavily influenced by Martin Margiela. Meanwhile, Tisci’s menswear has always looked like a hybrid between Helmut Lang and Gaultier’s multicultura handsome men. I honestly don’t see the connection here.

 

[Lola701]

Tisci is one of those designers who rose to fame largely thanks to connections. I’m not saying he doesn’t have talent, but honestly, I’d bet his reputation wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for that stroke of luck and relationships. Vetements didn't need Kanye, Kim or large stylists, photographers etc to make them a big force in the 2010s, you just can't deny that fact.

Is it fair though?
Kanye was attracted to Tisci mostly because he was one of the young stars in Paris. I remember when Kanye started to attend shows around 2006/2007, he was just another celebrity others. And matter of fact, he gravited more towards Pilati as a custom outfit was made for him and he was a Dior Homme client.

Tisci’s breakthrough was the FW2007 and from now big celebrities wanted to wear Givenchy.

Maybe I’m understanding your point in a different way that you intended but rising to success in Fashion has always been a connection thing. Connections brought you opportunities. If MCB wasn’t his best friend he could have never had the casting for his first eponymous collections and even got the visit of Carine. Without Carine he would have never had the Givenchy job but at the end he proved himself….

But the Parisian scene of fashion has always worked like that. A lot of luck and connections then you have to prove yourself.

I don’t think Riccardo’s reputation in the industry (not the mainstream or hypebeasts) comes from his celebrity connections that people did not want to embrace anyway. If one thing, I know a lot of people who got a lot resentment toward him and Rousteing for hyping them up and making their popularity a currency.

For me a success in fashion is always somehow related to connections. And then you prove yourself. IMO, Riccardo’s Givenchy was a success in terms of Fashion from clothes to Art Direction and to stores. It was a real achieved creative direction. And maybe that was the problem at Burberry. There he was just needed to be a designer. In a way like what Hermes and Vuitton are doing. The designers there are for the most part, purely designers.

IMO Riccardo is for example more talented than Stefano (and I shouldn’t say that maybe). Or like Stefano would say, he was gifted. He is gifted. Stefano is talented.

 

[tourbillions]

i see nothing that resembles margiela from demna. Its a highstreet/hypebeast brand first and foremost and If you think otherwise, its all delusions. Tisci brought the streets to the runway, whether people hated it or loved it he made sure street style had representations in his shows side by side his romantic/gothic eveningwear. Even the "luxury sneakers" that demna has been pushing in balenciaga, Tisci already had with his tyson sneakers. They were much more luxurious than whatever's in balenciaga this days.

I don't know why you're under the impression that tisci became famous because of kanye/kardashians. They were barely anyone during that time and Tisci was already celebrated in fashion.

 

[Melancholybaby]

I don't know why you're under the impression that tisci became famous because of kanye/kardashians. They were barely anyone during that time and Tisci was already celebrated in fashion.

If anything, it was Tisci that was partly responsible for legitimising Kanye and Kim in fashion (now whether that's a good or bad thing is a completely different discussion).

 

[Kanzai]

Is it fair though?
Kanye was attracted to Tisci mostly because he was one of the young stars in Paris. I remember when Kanye started to attend shows around 2006/2007, he was just another celebrity others. And matter of fact, he gravited more towards Pilati as a custom outfit was made for him and he was a Dior Homme client.

Tisci’s breakthrough was the FW2007 and from now big celebrities wanted to wear Givenchy.

Maybe I’m understanding your point in a different way that you intended but rising to success in Fashion has always been a connection thing. Connections brought you opportunities. If MCB wasn’t his best friend he could have never had the casting for his first eponymous collections and even got the visit of Carine. Without Carine he would have never had the Givenchy job but at the end he proved himself….

But the Parisian scene of fashion has always worked like that. A lot of luck and connections then you have to prove yourself.

I don’t think Riccardo’s reputation in the industry (not the mainstream or hypebeasts) comes from his celebrity connections that people did not want to embrace anyway. If one thing, I know a lot of people who got a lot resentment toward him and Rousteing for hyping them up and making their popularity a currency.

For me a success in fashion is always somehow related to connections. And then you prove yourself. IMO, Riccardo’s Givenchy was a success in terms of Fashion from clothes to Art Direction and to stores. It was a real achieved creative direction. And maybe that was the problem at Burberry. There he was just needed to be a designer. In a way like what Hermes and Vuitton are doing. The designers there are for the most part, purely designers.

IMO Riccardo is for example more talented than Stefano (and I shouldn’t say that maybe). Or like Stefano would say, he was gifted. He is gifted. Stefano is talented.

It's glad to hear your insights Lola, always. Maybe I read too much about the connections things, but I still hold my opinions about him as a designer. Gifted or not, I think it's more about our personal preference, Tisci and Theysken are known for their dark romanticsm, gothics,...but I've always been fond of Olivier's works instead of Tisci, so Olivier is automatically a gifted designer to me.

Tisci was a successful couturier, but in 2010, there are no less than 7 people are as brilliant as him. And there's no ways the IG crowds will throw his name around without that streetwear and hypebeast era at Givenchy. Nobody know how important and loved Alber at Lanvin was, and I'm sure current fashion fans very adore Stefano Pilati.

Demna things, again, it's back to personal preference. He's not even in my top 15 fav designers, but the ways some ppl disclaiming his talents is just ridiculous to me.

 

[LadyJunon]

can anyone share the article? so sorry for him....what happened and what will happen to him???

Long story short, Revolve purchased a majority stake of his label after it went into administration last year, revamping it with a toned-down aesthetic and a new logo. He was pushed out earlier this month and now he's trying to sue for predatory practices.

 

[Kanzai]

i see nothing that resembles margiela from demna. Its a highstreet/hypebeast brand first and foremost and If you think otherwise, its all delusions. Tisci brought the streets to the runway, whether people hated it or loved it he made sure street style had representations in his shows side by side his romantic/gothic eveningwear. Even the "luxury sneakers" that demna has been pushing in balenciaga, Tisci already had with his tyson sneakers. They were much more luxurious than whatever's in balenciaga this days.

I don't know why you're under the impression that tisci became famous because of kanye/kardashians. They were barely anyone during that time and Tisci was already celebrated in fashion.

I mean, you’re seriously overlooking Demna’s works here. As someone who personally enjoys Armani, a designer whose aesthetic is worlds apart from Vetements, I still wouldn’t dismiss Demna’s talent or deny the impact he’s made over the past decade. I’m not even going to argue with you about who pushed streetwear forward more between Tisci and Demna, that’s subjective.

But have you actually looked back at Vetements around 2015 to 2018 ( Balenciaga from 2016 to 2019 ) and seen how much of a fresh air they brought to the industry? Personally, I don’t think Gvasalia’s approach to streetwear has anything in common with Tisci’s. You could probably defend Tisci with that argument if we were talking about Kim Jones or Virgil Abloh, but sorry, Vetements and the perspective Lotta brought as a stylist were coming from a completely different place.

And when it comes to sneakers, the most successful pair Balenciaga has had is the Triple S, which, if anything, feels more like a 10-year-later homage to Ghesquière’s iconic Lego shoes from Fall Winter 2007. Tisci’s Givenchy wasn’t even as praised as Alber’s Lanvin at the time, and mind you, I wasn’t even a fan of Alber.

 

[hamburgers]

If anything, and I say this as a bystander, Tisci’s impact for me was legitimizing streetwear in high fashion. That was it, the influence. Unfortunately that reality is far away now.

I'd say carlyne cerf de dudzeele in the late 80's for womenswear and raf in the early 00's for menswear legitimized it before him, but Tisci brought his own HBA-inspired spin on it to a whole new generation after a couple years of streetwear dormancy.

Even the "luxury sneakers" that demna has been pushing in balenciaga, Tisci already had with his tyson sneakers.

Tisci's sneakers never took off and don't have anything to do with Balenciaga's sneaker success. Balenciaga already was a respected name in the sneaker world in 2010 with the Arena which was the last leg of the French high top sneaker trend started in FW07 by Lanvin then Pierre Hardy and then YSL in ss09 (I dont want to acknowledge those louboutin studded ones ever existed).

Demna's first hit Speed sneaker at balenciaga was a meme-y joke about the ultralight weight mesh top style shoe made popular by the Nike Roshe in like 2012 which started as an adolescent boy shoe and became a ubiquitous mom shoe. It had the irony that kids who grew up online expected, the same lightweight Roshe practicality that an indiscriminate luxury sneaker shopper had grown accustomed to, and was part of a name that had a legacy in sneaker culture. Those Lanvin Curb sneakers that the company is surviving on now also probably became popular in part because Lanvin was already an established name in the sneaker scene.

 

[Xone]

Long story short, Revolve purchased a majority stake of his label after it went into administration last year, revamping it with a toned-down aesthetic and a new logo. He was pushed out earlier this month and now he's trying to sue for predatory practices.

thanks! thats a shame....hope he can get his name back....

 

[tourbillions]

I mean, you’re seriously overlooking Demna’s works here. As someone who personally enjoys Armani, a designer whose aesthetic is worlds apart from Vetements, I still wouldn’t dismiss Demna’s talent or deny the impact he’s made over the past decade. I’m not even going to argue with you about who pushed streetwear forward more between Tisci and Demna, that’s subjective.

But have you actually looked back at Vetements around 2015 to 2018 ( Balenciaga from 2016 to 2019 ) and seen how much of a fresh air they brought to the industry? Personally, I don’t think Gvasalia’s approach to streetwear has anything in common with Tisci’s. You could probably defend Tisci with that argument if we were talking about Kim Jones or Virgil Abloh, but sorry, Vetements and the perspective Lotta brought as a stylist were coming from a completely different place.

And when it comes to sneakers, the most successful pair Balenciaga has had is the Triple S, which, if anything, feels more like a 10-year-later homage to Ghesquière’s iconic Lego shoes from Fall Winter 2007. Tisci’s Givenchy wasn’t even as praised as Alber’s Lanvin at the time, and mind you, I wasn’t even a fan of Alber.

thats what people do when they are trying to defend someone they like. you take what would help your argument and drop everything else good they did and make it all "irrelevant".

In this case demna had to use and destroy balenciaga's name for his vision. Before him, Balenciaga was just coming out of its best days, ofcourse a few missess in between before demna took the helm. Atleast Tisci was working from 0 cred in Givenchy and made it relevant.

This sounds less about fans liking Tisci but more about you defending Demna at this point because of people (me) saying Tisci was a better fit in Gucci than Demna.

Can't believe people are really gonna be comparing demna's trash couture to a real couturier. And do we really believe that demna stayed in balenciaga and now to gucci for that long because he had no connections? He even got away with that horrific campaign, i guess also without his connections. All because of his sheer genius and talent.

 

[Lola701]

It's glad to hear your insights Lola, always. Maybe I read too much about the connections things, but I still hold my opinions about him as a designer. Gifted or not, I think it's more about our personal preference, Tisci and Theysken are known for their dark romanticsm, gothics,...but I've always been fond of Olivier's works instead of Tisci, so Olivier is automatically a gifted designer to me.

Tisci was a successful couturier, but in 2010, there are no less than 7 people are as brilliant as him. And there's no ways the IG crowds will throw his name around without that streetwear and hypebeast era at Givenchy. Nobody know how important and loved Alber at Lanvin was, and I'm sure current fashion fans very adore Stefano Pilati.

Demna things, again, it's back to personal preference. He's not even in my top 15 fav designers, but the ways some ppl disclaiming his talents is just ridiculous to me.

But you see, Tisci and Olivier are two different designers who rose to fame at almost two different times. Olivier also benefited from connections, that made him a household name. He was from a generation of very talented/gifted but extremely connected designers. And he is the one who had the worldwide fame before all the others. He dressed Madonna, was quickly embraced and supported by Anna, was aknowledged by Karl.

Olivier was recognized and celebrated before having any type of commercial success.

For me Riccardo is a very different designer. He is Italian, his influences are different and I would say maybe more complex. I would never compare the two designers normally but if I should say something, I would say that Riccardo was always more confident as a designer than Olivier was ever.

I remember at the time, a lot of people went to the Nina Ricci shows but tbh, they went because it was a talented supported by important figures. I don’t think people in Paris were particularly fond of his work. But suddenly, in his last show, he delivered one of his best collection ever. It was such a waste. Very frustration to do a farewell that is that successful when your entire tenure has been a bit lackluster.
I think Riccardo connected with woman right from the start because he made clothes that wanted to wear. At the beginning, it was super annoying and pretentious btw. His presentations, the whole thing. It was sometimes over-designed but in Paris, when you make sexy clothes that women can wear to work, you win their heart.

I have never bought anything Olivier even if I liked his work and loved his farewell Nina Ricci. It wasn’t for me. I still have all my Riccardo’s so my opinion is biaised.

Regarding the streetwear conversation. It is logical that Riccardo is known by young people because of that because he was the first one who appropriated the codes of streetwear through the lens of Hip-Hop in the HF context. It’s a bit like The Dior Rasta and Lauryn Hill sections from Galliano in womenswear. And Riccardo embraced the HH community and it worked only because he was at the height of the HF conversation.
And people, even more when they aren’t into fashion, connects with what make sense for them. The hypebeasts only connects with Raf Simons through his early 00’s collections that were embraced later by the likes of ASAP Rocky.

The best work of Raf was for me when his collections were more mature and more tailoring focused. Nobody is talking about that. I have an all leather focused menswear show for Jil Sander in mind.

Alber is again different. Alber was known in Paris in 1998 already. When I started to work in fashion, people were still talking about Tom Ford firing him even though it happened two years before already. For me, he is not in the same conversation as Riccardo. Him, like Hedi was embraced by Pierre Bergé and it gave them an instant boost and mystique in the Parisian scene. Hedi confirmed at Dior Homme. Alber confirmed at Lanvin. And both Alber and Hedi experienced critical and commercial success from their first collections. But Alber spoke to a different crowd, more sophisticated. At the time, the women who wore Birkin bags (they were usually over 40 at that time) were Lanvin clients.

The perception around Alber shifted when he started to dress Nathalie Portman (before it was more Kristin Scott Thomas), when he did his ballet flats and when they relaunched the menswear. Suddenly, they had the sneakers and they were sold at the same places as Dior Homme. So a lot of clients of DH started to wear Lanvin. It even motivated the house I was working at to launch a sneaker.

Alber’s dimension changed again when he made sexier collections. SS2006 was more sexy than usual for example. It was the talk of the town at that time. Then with SS2007, people like Jennifer Lopez adore Lanvin. So there was a build up up until the SS2008 which was his big big HIT! But for me you can’t put him in the same conversation as Riccardo.

If we talk about Riccardo at Balenciaga today, for me, Riccardo is a great CD. Balenciaga will need a CD that is confident with his aesthetic to be able to move on from the Demna years…Much like Demna’s confidence allowed them to move on from the NG that were too heavy for Wang. And I think about Couture. With Chanel, Dior and Givenchy that are going to shift things in Couture, I want somebody experienced and ambitious enough at Balenciaga to do it.

And I’m a sucker of this kind of connections! The fact that the previous CD of Givenchy goes to Balenciaga makes my day. If there was an Ungaro connection with Riccardo, it would have been even more great to me.

Sorry for my extended post lol.