Most Talented Creative Directors

[superria]

I recently read an article on Fashionbi about talented creative directors and how they changed the brands DNA and found it really interesting. My favorites would definitely be Tom Ford changing Gucci, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, and Phoebe Philo for Celine.

But apart from these three, do you guys know any other creative directors who totally turned a brand around?

 

[williscrazy]

I would say Nicolas for Balenciaga.

 

[reesewu]

I'd say Galliano in his early days a Dior. His version of a raunchy and hyper-sexualized Dior is quite shocking yet genius. Not to mention the Egyptian spectacle in 2004 that somehow got people being more interested in HC again.

 

[Koibito]

Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga
Raf Simons for Jil Sander
Alessandra Facchinetti for Valentino
Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci
Albert Elbaz for Lanvin

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy Couture
Olivier Rousteing for Balmain

 

[Mathewthew]

Nicolas Ghesquiere, Balenciaga
Tom Ford, Gucci
Alber Elbaz, Lanvin
Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy
John Galliano, Dior
Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton
Miuccia Prada, Prada

I think Tom, Galliano, Marc and Nicolas would be at the top of my list. Dose Miuccia counts as one of them ?! She is really one of the pioneer of the "now" generation of fashion. You feel like she creates Prada as a style, as a brand.

 

[AD011620]

Alexander McQueen - Givenchy

 

[Spike413]

I'm wondering what the criteria is here, because while some of the names mentioned (Ford, Ghesquiere, Elbaz for instance) definitely have been/were instrumental in completely redefining what a brand is all about and putting an indelible stamp on the respective brands' DNA, some others (McQueen at Givenchy, Faccinetti at Valentino, Theyskens at Nina Ricci) definitely don't fit that bill.

If it's simply a matter of who the most "talented" were in terms of collections they produced, that's a different matter.

 

[Creative]

Interesting topic. There are just a few designers who really left they personal stamp in a fashion label. It's incredible because there have been thousands of Creative Directors...

I think this would be it:

Karl Lagerfeld – Chanel

Tom Ford - Gucci

Nicolas Ghesquière - Balenciaga

John Galliano - Dior

Alber Elbaz - Lanvin

Phoebe Philo – Chloé

Phoebe Philo - Céline

Riccardo Tisci - Givenchy

Gérard Pipart - Nina Ricci

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo – Lanvin

Cristophe Decarnin – Balmain. He really revived the dying brand and made it famous because of his look; something Hervé Pierre, Erik Mortensen, de la Renta, Mercer or Dufour couldn’t achieve (it’s clearly not at the level ok Karl or John, but still…). Rusteing is just enjoying the hype of Decarnin's tenure -which I never enjoyed, by the way-.

I wouldn’t include Marc for Vuitton, Karl for Fendi and Michel for Patou… although they are close to that “level”.

 

[Scott]

superria,would you happen to have a copy or a link to this article you could share on the thread? i think that would help out a lot in terms of context. but i would hope in terms of the actual work....not merely a presence because like you said spike,for all the successful pairings there have been some rather unsuccessful ones as well.

martin margiela at hermes.....although merely a tenure i think martin left a real mark with his sublimely rich nonchalance.

i have to say i was also a big fan of that revolving door concept at Ruffo Research....going from branquinho/simons to a.f. vandevorst and then kokosalaki,alexandre matthieu and ended with a then unknown haider ackermann....it was a really fun idea to see their aesthetics all translated into entirely leather materials.

and i was a big a fan of the early early seasons of ghesquiere at balenciaga.

 

[ultramarine]

Interesting topic. There are just a few designers who really left they personal stamp in a fashion label. It's incredible because there have been thousands of Creative Directors...

I think this would be it:

Karl Lagerfeld – Chanel

Tom Ford - Gucci

Nicolas Ghesquière - Balenciaga

John Galliano - Dior

Alber Elbaz - Lanvin

Phoebe Philo – Chloé

Phoebe Philo - Céline

Riccardo Tisci - Givenchy

Gérard Pipart - Nina Ricci

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo – Lanvin

Cristophe Decarnin – Balmain. He really revived the dying brand and made it famous because of his look; something Hervé Pierre, Erik Mortensen, de la Renta, Mercer or Dufour couldn’t achieve (it’s clearly not at the level ok Karl or John, but still…). Rusteing is just enjoying the hype of Decarnin's tenure -which I never enjoyed, by the way-.

I wouldn’t include Marc for Vuitton, Karl for Fendi and Michel for Patou… although they are close to that “level”.

I think you got it spot on ... but what about Pucci?

Did Lacroix and Williamson really failed to get to that level? Did they contribute for Pucci under Dundas to gain momentum?

And yes, Margiela at Hermès is KEY.

 

[ultramarine]

As well, I like to bring out about what does this threads intention is ...

Ford at Gucci was EPIC. But he sucked b+lls at YSL. Like Alber. or McQueen at Givenchy.

But that doesnt mean that they are not "good".

 

[yesitsdagny]

John at Dior and Alber at Lanvin!

 

[Creative]

I would never say Martin’s influence at Hermès was that big. In fact, I think Marc is more “key” to Vuitton than Martin to Hermès. After all, Marc made it the mega-brand it is today… But, at the same time, I don’t really think he has left his stamp at the label.

Anyway, these accessory focused brands are a little bit different than the rest… They are run differently.

Hermès, for example, has always reflected that timeless classic wardrobe, and that was way before Martin… It’s easy to tell that even from the ads. Eric, Claude, Tan, Marc or Mariot’s ‘take’ on Hermès was more or less in the same vein as Martin’s.

Yeah, I know what you mean about Pucci, ultramarine, but I think it doesn’t really suit here. It’s true that Espada, Williamson and Lacroix were not hits at the brand, and that Peter has managed to create hype around it on his own, but I doubt he will be considered as key to the brand in a future as the rest. I think it’s more or less the same with Olivier at Rochas or Ricci. Under his tenure those brands gained a lot of momentum, but at the end, his vision is just “another vision”.

Definitely, the most successful one is Karl. He has created a Chanel world that has barely anything to do with the real Chanel world, but at the same time it’s so Chanel that it’s more Chanel than Chanel. It’s genius and really incredible. I know that in a future, when a new designer creates his first collection for the brand, he will surely draw criticsm because people will say that what he does is not Chanel at all, and they will think that because of Karl’s input at the house.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I chose C.Ds who woke sleeping beauties, or downright rose the dead. Those who managed to bring "forgotten" houses to the foreground, making them highly influential houses - for design and image. Those who left/are leaving their finger prints all over the brand and the history of fashion.

Poster Child: Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel
Phoebe Philo at Celine
Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga
John Galliano at Christian Dior
Tom Ford at Gucci
Alber Elbaz at Lanvin
Christophe Decarin at Balmain
Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta
Christopher Bailey at Burberry.

 

[Scott]

i disagree creative....notice my operative term being nonchalance....during that era and even prior,no one was bringing that to the table at luxury houses quite in the same spirit as MM. it was all about glamour and trendiness(which is what marc brought vuitton)...his was the antithesis of all that which is why his appointment and subsequent work there was very poignant. and also,MM was centered round the clothes not trendy it accessories,which with vuitton sometimes overshadowed the clothes.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Martin Margiela was never a creative director of Hermes, he was only director of the women's RTW studio, same as Gaultier, same as Christophe Lemaire. A creative director usually oversees all lines and product categories as well as marketing and advertising imagery. It's a much bigger scope that Margiela did not have.

Pierre Alexis Dumas is the house's "artistic" director.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

My List:

Alber Elbaz - Lanvin
Phoebe Philo - Celine
Tom Ford - Gucci
Marc Jacobs - Louis Vuitton
Nicholas Ghesquiere - Balenciaga
Hedi Slimane- Saint Laurent (hate what he does but it's a strong vision executed flawlessly)
Karl Lagerfeld - Chanel
Jenna Lyons - J.Crew
Jean Touitou - A.P.C.
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli - Valentino
Riccardo Tisci - Givenchy

maybe missing a couple of others but can't think of them at the moment

 

[Crying Diamonds]

I think the job of the creative director is to continue a legacy into the modern day, and that is how their talent should be perceived - how they have humbly and uniquely combined their own personality and the namesake's. As romantic as it sounds, I don't believe taking over as a creative director at a famous brand is just about selling clothes.

Can one imagine a bright, feminine, elegant Givenchy after the dark aesthetic Alexander McQueen and Riccardo Tisci imbued on the brand? Not really, but that is what Hubert de Givenchy's designs were like, they appear to have smothered the original direction of the brand instead of embracing it.
"What talent?" is what McQueen reportedly said about Monsieur Givenchy.
But if there is a lack of defining designs in the brand, such as Dior's 'bar' coat, or Balenciaga's 'sack' line, it must be difficult to follow without taking over.
In the end, Givenchy was just a famous name, a boat to ride in, one that could be filled with anything as long as it didn't sink, the question is, does it mean McQueen and Tisci were good captains?
Brands like Givenchy are ambiguous, Celine is another, they can be easily morphed to suit the new designer's aesthetics. The only defining aspect about Chloe is just an 'air' of youth and girlishness.

Lanvin is now all raw edges, exposed zips, huge jewellery and beading, but Jeanne Lanvin was a couturier who loved embellishment, Alber Elbaz embraces this and likely shares similar tastes to Ms Lanvin, therefore they are a great match.

The most absurd match seems to be Raf Simons at Dior, a minimal menswear designer designs under the name of a decadent femininity-obsessed designer. Both talents could, but just haven't shown through in my opinion.

 

[Phuel]

For me, it's about the designer's strong, influential and visionary direction that transcends that house's identity. It's not just about modernizing and keeping the house relevant. And I don't think Margiela had that hold when he was at Hermes (as great as I thought his direction was), Scott. And as Mutterlein points out, he was only director at the women's RTW. Someone like Riccardo I find to be a stronger stylist than a designer: I think he borrows too much from McQueen and Gaultier. But unlike these masters he's borrowed from who's styling are so extreme, Riccardo keeps the overall look conventionally and accessibly beautiful, so it's easy for most to digest. I do find his take on Haute Couture to be truly refreshing and it's in this exclusive arena where his skills and attitude shines.

Tom Ford for Gucci, Hedi Slimane for Dior Homme, Christopher Bailey for Burberry, and Nicholas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga are the ones that had such strong and influential directions in the industry that impacted not just the house they were overseeing, but the fashion landscape overall. We're still saying "That's very Tom Ford for Gucci" or "Very Hedi for Dior" when we describing certain collections-- and that's a powerful hold they've achieved on our fashion vocabulary and consciousness. Where would Belstaff (or Pringle, or Mulberry-- or any number of old English houses) be without Christopher's vision of Burberry'? Or how about Nicholas' tremendous influence not just for numerous young designers-- but just the Balenciaga styling and silhouette in general?