Peter Do - Designer

[alwaysademo]

Between her and Ghesquiere their employees have collectively been CD for ~10 major houses.

 

[Lola701]

Between her and Ghesquiere their employees have collectively been CD for ~10 major houses.

It’s a testament to their influence. Much like before them, they all either came from Miuccia Prada or Tom Ford.

I don’t know if it’s great for creativity today. There’s something about Phoebe and Nicolas that is maybe more closer to Prada than Tom Ford, is how their alumni have been deeply infused by their style.

Tom Ford’s people were so different on their own and to each other that they didn’t really worked hard to standout.

All the Ghesquiere/Philo have to fight hard to standout. We see Paco Rabanne or Chloe under NRL for example.

 

[alwaysademo]

It’s a testament to their influence. Much like before them, they all either came from Miuccia Prada or Tom Ford.

I don’t know if it’s great for creativity today. There’s something about Phoebe and Nicolas that is maybe more closer to Prada than Tom Ford, is how their alumni have been deeply infused by their style.

Tom Ford’s people were so different on their own and to each other that they didn’t really worked hard to standout.

All the Ghesquiere/Philo have to fight hard to standout. We see Paco Rabanne or Chloe under NRL for example.

So true. They're like the headmasters. The hierachy might seem irrelevant at a glance but the higher you get on the ladder the more you realize it's very much the same old game. A lot of young people today come to work in the industry and expect an Oscar so to speak, irl it's much more the SAG. Btw who came from TF Lola?
I feel like the Ghesquiere cabin is really different because at heart they're all a bit more intellectually-driven, a bit niche, none had a hold on a certain zeitgeist the way the Philo bunch had.

 

[Lola701]

So true. They're like the headmasters. The hierachy might seem irrelevant at a glance but the higher you get on the ladder the more you realize it's very much the same old game. A lot of young people today come to work in the industry and expect an Oscar so to speak, irl it's much more the SAG. Btw who came from TF Lola?
I feel like the Ghesquiere cabin is really different because at heart they're all a bit more intellectually-driven, a bit niche, none had a hold on a certain zeitgeist the way the Philo bunch had.

They were copied so much by their contemporaries, particularly in the US that their aesthetic became a kind of standard in terms of HF. Something can be very niche in Europe but then, when filtered though the lens of American culture, it becomes so mass!
I often think about Margiela. It was a big thing for some real fashion heads but it’s wasn’t that hot! To see what his legacy and his name has become once some rappers embraced him (Pharrell was actually the first one to get into it) is insane.

About Tom Ford: Stefano, Frida, Alessandro, Clare, Stefano, Milan Vukmirovic, Christopher Bailey, Francesco Costa, Francesco Russo, Vanessa Seward, John Ray, Peter Hawkings and the new guy from Area all worked for him at his different brands.

The main difference about Nicolas is that he never really left. He took a 1 year break and only missed 2 main seasons.
It’s like when Hedi left Dior Homme. Everybody wanted a piece of Hedi and suddenly, even people who left DH while he was still there had all the attention.

Phoebe left, there was a void and luckily, a lot of people ready to fill that void in different capacities.

The industry tried to have the same thing with JWA but I think that he has less of charisma as a designer to really have charismatic alumni. Someone like Nicolas Di Felice has more charisma as a designer, down to his POV than the guy at McQueen or the guy from Lanvin back in the day.

 

[LadyJunon]

So true. They're like the headmasters. The hierachy might seem irrelevant at a glance but the higher you get on the ladder the more you realize it's very much the same old game. A lot of young people today come to work in the industry and expect an Oscar so to speak, irl it's much more the SAG. Btw who came from TF Lola?
I feel like the Ghesquiere cabin is really different because at heart they're all a bit more intellectually-driven, a bit niche, none had a hold on a certain zeitgeist the way the Philo bunch had.

I think that the NG team are also a bit more individual too, which is a reflection of Ghesquière's constant experimental streak that has also kept him on the margins. Philo is oddly enough quite similar, but the zeitgeist had somewhat forced her look into the "good taste" perimeter, producing the precursor of today's quiet luxury. Therefore, the work her cabin produces feels increasingly conservative in a way Ghesquière's doesn't.

 

[alwaysademo]

About Tom Ford: Stefano, Frida, Alessandro, Clare, Stefano, Milan Vukmirovic, Christopher Bailey, Francesco Costa, Francesco Russo, Vanessa Seward, John Ray, Peter Hawkings and the new guy from Area all worked for him at his different brands.

The industry tried to have the same thing with JWA but I think that he has less of charisma as a designer to really have charismatic alumni. Someone like Nicolas Di Felice has more charisma as a designer, down to his POV than the guy at McQueen or the guy from Lanvin back in the day.

Wow @ that list I had no idea. I wonder what would've happened at the CFDA if Tom stayed committed for longer.

Like you mentioned @Lola701 , Di Felice is the clear exception in his cabin because he brought along his youth vision that resonates to an existing, modern audience. Natacha didn't have it at Chloé, same as Julien at Rabanne or Bouchra at Lanvin. Still, Ghesquiere was remarkable in that he managed to stay true to his alternative vision while achieving mass success which is in and of itself a rare accomplishment, then or now. I doubt anyone coming after him will be able to do the same.

Phoebe left, there was a void and luckily, a lot of people ready to fill that void in different capacities.

Philo is oddly enough quite similar, but the zeitgeist had somewhat forced her look into the "good taste" perimeter, producing the precursor of today's quiet luxury. Therefore, the work her cabin produces feels increasingly conservative in a way Ghesquière's doesn't.

But the thing is that void was never fully filled and even after her hiatus, her style is not only much copied; it is still at the center of the fashion conversation while every other big thing from the 2010s had become passé, even Prada. I think in Philo's case @LadyJunon , the competition doesn't come from inside her cabin but from outside. Her Céline drove the fashion conversation and turned a fringe idea (the galleriste) into something so fundamental in such a short time so her influence is in a way, more impactful than Ghesquiere's I think. It fundamentally changed if not how we dress, how one designs today whereas witnessing NG's rise is like seeing someone like Montana becoming a household name. NG cut his teeth at a legacy maison, but his legacy is one of novelty whereas the name Phoebe alone is now pretty much comparable to past greats.

 

[Kanzai]

Nicolas belongs more to the avant-garde spectrum, so naturally his language is unique and not always in tune with the zeitgeist, nor does it influence fashion in breadth the way Phoebe did – redefining how women dressed and pioneering a new standard. He was one of the key figures who defined 2000s fashion, but his work remained too tasteful, too fashion-insider to truly impact the mainstream wardrobe in the way Phoebe or Hedi did. I’m far more fond of Nicolas than Phoebe, but he’s never been the kind of revolutionary she was – he's more like designer's designer.