Matthew M. Williams - Designer

[Creative]

Dossena is not six letters...lol

He has an aesthetic and tbh, he has done something quite amazing. When was the last time Paco Rabanne was even a part of any fashion conversation?
He is talented. He can do great in menswear (like Nicolas) but Paco Rabanne menswear is not needed. It can be good for the stage but not for real life.

Well, Julien is six letters, Dossena is his surname.

I think he's just there because of Ghesquière. Otherwise I doubt he would've had any success tbh.

 

[jeanclaude]

I would like someone totally unknown and with a fresh vision, someone able to add new vocabulary to Givenchy´s DNA.
Just like it happened with Ghesquière when he took over Balenciaga; or Tom Ford when he became Gucci´s designer.

Ok, back to reality now. It will probably be someone like Heron Preston; or any other random streetwear designer...

 

[Lola701]

I would like someone totally unknown and with a fresh vision, someone able to add new vocabulary to Givenchy´s DNA.
Just like it happened with Ghesquière when he took over Balenciaga; or Tom Ford when he became Gucci´s designer.

Ok, back to reality now. It will probably be someone like Heron Preston; or any other random streetwear designer...

I would like to say...Once again?
Riccardo was unknown before Givenchy...But really, if the goal of LVMH is really to have Givenchy next to Dior, Fendi or even Vuitton, they will have to attract stars. Re-writing the story everytime someone comes is not healthy...

 

[jeanclaude]

I would like to say...Once again?
Riccardo was unknown before Givenchy...But really, if the goal of LVMH is really to have Givenchy next to Dior, Fendi or even Vuitton, they will have to attract stars. Re-writing the story everytime someone comes is not healthy...

Then they should hire someone as predictable and dull as Mary Grace (who has never been a fashion star, by the way)...but anyway, all big brands are boring as hell nowadays! No matter who are going to hire, it is gonna be boring (money rules).

 

[reese06]

Quinn would be a terrible choice. He has not shown anything to make him worthy of holding such a position.

Referencing McQueen, Galliano, Margiela, Lacroix does not a master make. I don't really get a point of view from him.

 

[YohjiAddict]

^His Miu Miu flavored Moncler collab last February has been his only redeeming collection. The rest is just cheap parody.

 

[depordetioz]

this forum has me counting the letters in every designer’s names

 

[Lola701]

Rumors are on Haider...

 

[SophiaVB]

Rumors are on Haider...

One can only hope... Feel like Haider is not good at doing commercial though!

 

[Lola701]

One can only hope... Feel like Haider is not good at doing commercial though!

He has a cult following and LVMH owes him for the mess Antoine Arnault did with Berluti.
I doubt it’s true but since it’s a rumor...

 

[Creative]

Yeah I doubt it's true too. He's not "trendy" anymore and I feel the hype he had a few years ago is gone. He's there doing his thing, but I think LVMH needs someone more commercial indeed.

I wouldn't be surprised if they make a Balenciaga 2.0 with Virgil, selling hoodies and sneakers.

 

[Lola701]

^^
Hmm... It’s not really about hype or being Hot than having a vision that can be valuable in a long term. Clare wasn’t hype when she got the job...She was just capable. She was an experienced designer who had commercial and critical success in her career and a valuable resume.

If getting a job was only about the hype, Kris Van Assche wouldn’t be at Berluti... His vision matched what Antoine Arnault wanted to do with Berluti.

Selling t-shirts and sneakers is fine but you need a real vision. Givenchy never stopped selling T-shirts and sneakers but if the aesthetic of the brand is not strong enough, it won’t be enough on a long run. Givenchy under Riccardo sold jeans, T-shirts, shirts, hoodies and even suits. The simple decision of having muscular guys on his runways actually attracted a new clientele that felt neglected by HF before. And those guys were willing to buy suits on top of the usual commercial stuff.

Haider is pretty much around the people that counts and that’s why maybe he is part of the conversation. To this day, he is still at Chanel events and still at LVMH related events.

I think the profile now is to have someone who has a strong aesthetic and who can do everything. I’m not so much a fan of what he is doing now but in his early days, Demna proved that he can do anything at Balenciaga. Menswear is much more casual than Womenswear but your tailored suit needs to be as valid as your T-shirt.

Tbh, Virgil is the only designer in that position of being hired thanks to the « hype ». We can say, yes Demna and stuff...But Demna knows how to a cut a jacket and construct a dress.

 

[Creative]

I actually think hype in fashion is the most important these days... Look at Clare, she had 0 hype and she's gone, and it was easy to know she was not gonna have any hype at all in beforehand. I was really surprised they appointed her Creative Director. I kind of liked her Chloé though, but I think she only fits brands like that. She's not "grand" let's say.

Demna succeeded cause he was super hyped at Vetements, not because he knows how to cut a suit. I think he didn't even do much suits in Vetements and his dresses were so so terribly finished there (on purpose maybe but still, you didn't get that cheap feeling with other designers whose will was also to make garments look cheap). In his case it looked cheap and it was cheap. Sneakers' mix in Balenciaga's shoes turnover is around 80%, while sportswear represents 90% of the mix in RTW. I like many of the tailored garments he did at Balenciaga but we have to be honest, the success didn't come from those pieces.

And then you have Slimane with a strong vision, but his CÉLINE is not doing that well anymore. Why? Cause his hype is gone. No one cares about him anymore.

Pier has a nice vision for Valentino, but now it's getting more difficult than when hyped and untalented MGC was there, she moved the hype from Valentino to Dior.

Virginie has no hype at all and the vision is just the same Karl had, I'm sure many wouldn't have noticed Karl is not doing the collections. Yet she has 0 hype and I've been told they are negative in some spots...

So yeah, "l'air du Temp" and the "je ne sais quoi" do matter for sure. I'm quite sure they will hire someone hyped, young and that people consider is cool right now. Haider is like from another era.

I like some designers that are also from another era (Pilati, Alber or Nicolás),but we have to accept that they belong to another era and that their speech doesn't sound current anymore. Sad but true.

 

[Lola701]

^^
Hype is not really a positive word IMO, at least for people who cares about fashion I think.
I feel like the rise of Williams, Abloh, Lorenzo...etc has more to do with Culture impact than fashion itself.

It’s maybe unfair but I prefer to use momentum when it comes to designers. And for me, there’s a difference between a designer being recognized for something, who has a momentum and who got the job at a big brand like Demna compared to Abloh who got the job thanks to his entourage and what he represented. The same for someone like Alexander Wang. Not so much to say in design but a lot more to offer in terms of packaging and cultural energy.

Clare dressed Megan and had a lot of buzz with her first Couture. She did not had the vision and did not take advantage of the situation. She had the same opportunities as Sarah Burton but did not take it.

I agree about Hedi and Valentino even if I think Hedi paid the price of his arrogance. He is timeless but indeed, people don’t care because no matter what, in fashion, you are only as good as your last collection.

Virginie has no vision. Karl’s vision was to modernize Chanel but there was a desire to push textile, shapes, to use the Metiers d’Arts as a laboratory of ideas. Virginie is making clothes for whoever...I stopped caring or even trying to buy Chanel. I think the fact that her Chanel is struggling is the proof that people noticed Karl is not there anymore. She does a lot of logos and the sales are not good so...

A designer’s job is to adapt himself. I’m against the idea that good designers don’t have a place in the current system. I’m maybe naive but that’s why I will always support people like Nicolas and Riccardo. I know in 5 years, I’ll always like their clothes. I cannot say the same thing about Marine Serre or Erdem.

 

[perfect blue]

I still sometimes can't believe that Lee was creative director here. He did some of his best work at Givenchy.

As much as people criticized Riccardo, he was still a tough act to follow after he left. He made a big cultural impact with his time at Givenchy. I feel like 2010-2015 streetwear was partly defined by Givenchy and Riccardo.

 

[Creative]

^^
Hype is not really a positive word IMO, at least for people who cares about fashion I think.

I don't know if it's positive or negative. I think it's intrinsic to fashion... These days talent is the last important thing. Otherwise 97% of the designers working today wouldn't be working as fashion designers.

Today, fashion is just the bastion where rich people untalented and passion- free kids work. Before it was also a little bit like this, but the kids were a tad more "Savage" and you also had people that succeeded even if they came from a poor environment. In 2020 that's nearly impossible unless a miracle happens.

And general managers, CEOs, country managers... Know nothing about fashion. Berge, Giammetti... You don't have that anymore. They literally know NOTHING, not even what a dart is. They just see numbers and they have more power than ever. And at the end of the day, they are the ones that rule the world fashion.

 

[YohjiAddict]

I would disagree that Chanel hasn't visibly changed since Virginie took over, I adored Lagerfeld's Chanel and from that library collection onwards the imaginative, exquisite tailoring became crap, even though members in here took it all for granted most of the couture shows had unique manipulations of the collar and the shoulders that made them really distinctive and the execution was beyond perfect, of course. The flou is another tragedy, doesn't have the astounding grace that it used to and the styling is awfully plain. And yes, as Lola mentioned, the textile manipulations were quite often state of the but now they're nothing to write home about.

I don't even bother to go through any of her shows, I know they'll be dissapointing. She can try all she wants with camelias, lions, interlocking C motifs but Chanel no longer feels right.

 

[Benn98]

Sneakers' mix in Balenciaga's shoes turnover is around 80%, while sportswear represents 90% of the mix in RTW.

I believe this! I was shocked to come across two double-page sets of ads for their Track sneakers in a recent issue of Wired, a magazine that has absolutely nothing to do with fashion. As usual it was tucked between the main features. I've not seen those ads in any fashion magazine to date and that should tell you how invested they are in their sneaker market, and the target demographic.

 

[Avonlea]

I wonder why most designers nowadays treat their shows more like showcase of all the stuff they will have in boutiques rather than opportunity to produce something interesting that is going to stand out and inspire people in future.

Maybe its an outdated approach but I loved the way Galliano or Sarah Burton worked.
They would design amazing collections without thinking about wearability and how its going to sell. Later they would put more commercial versions in shops.

Today if someone wanted to have the garment exactly the way it was presented on runway it could be treated as a custom order. In the end of the day people buy sunglasses, bags and shoes so why not have a little bit of fun.

If suits want money why dont they just follow Kawakubos buisiness model. It works and Rei can do whatever she wants.

 

[Lola701]

I wonder why most designers nowadays treat their shows more like showcase of all the stuff they will have in boutiques rather than opportunity to produce something interesting that is going to stand out and inspire people in future.

Maybe its an outdated approach but I loved the way Galliano or Sarah Burton worked.
They would design amazing collections without thinking about wearability and how its going to sell. Later they would put more commercial versions in shops.

Today if someone wanted to have the garment exactly the way it was presented on runway it could be treated as a custom order. In the end of the day people buy sunglasses, bags and shoes so why not have a little bit of fun.

If suits want money why dont they just follow Kawakubos buisiness model. It works and Rei can do whatever she wants.

Somebody asked something similar in a thread because he missed Marc Jacobs shows for Vuitton. And I asked him if he would seriously have Marc Jacobs come just to do « Good shows ».

Producing something that will « inspire » is a very outdated idea if it won’t have any life in the stores and for the clients. Remember Dior by Galliano RTW shows in the 00’s? Extravaganza in the runway to sell J’Adore Dior T-shirts. Remember the last few seasons of Vuitton by Marc Jacobs? Fabulous runway shows to sell bags and barely produce the clothes.

Personally, as someone who loves High Fashion, I love the fact that I can buy what I see on the runway. I hate the idea that the only way to achieve fashion is through T-shirts and Jeans.

And I really believe that designers today still designs with the idea of people wearing their clothes and not necessarly doing Art or Sculpture. The CDG business would be the worst ever for the industry and it only works for CDG. On the long run, it’s not even that good in terms of business (the volumes are not comparable and the margin for luxury brands are on another level).

The problem today has more to do with the suits being obsessed by the idea of millenials. They thinks that by doing T-shirts and sweatshirts, they will attract the future big spenders earlier and keep them for years as clients. The reality is that young people consume fashion in the same way they consume music. People who are in their 30’s I feel have a relationship to the brands based on the designers rather than on products. And the new generation is the opposite.