Which labels respect their founders' legacies and which don't? A deep dive!

[nationalsalt]

I recently happened to read a few "About us" pages on various label's websites and was shocked at how little some of them wrote about their iconic founders or subsequent designers who have helped them achieve huge success.

Considering how "heritage" is such an important of brand building and marketing these days (not to mention putting some RESPECT on designers' names), I thought I'd investigate to see which sites do well in this regard and who should be imprisoned. Read on to see the winners and losers...

(Note - I haven't included brands founded by designers who still work at them, e.g. Armani, Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne etc. They can choose whether or not to honour themselves.😄)

THE BEST

DIOR



History

Without a doubt the best biography page, it covers Christian Dior’s life and work in extensive detail and mentions every subsequent designer – even the interim tenures of Bill Gaytten, Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier.

Plus some diplomatic wording on Galliano’s scandal that made me laugh:
2011: John Galliano leaves Dior
He is replaced by assistant designer Bill Gaytten, who designs the next four collections.


EXCELLENT

CAROLINA HERRERA


Carolina Herrera | Official Website

Superb, a full timeline of her biography up to and including Wes Gordon’s appointment.


CHANEL


https://www.chanel.com/gb/about-chanel/the-founder/

Mostly excellent, the site features an in depth profile of Coco (without mentioning her WWII affiliations…) and gives a thorough timeline of the label for every decade since. A little light on Lagerfeld praise considering his legacy, and the ‘2010s’ section seems to be not working, so a bit of history is lost.


LOEWE


https://www.loewe.com/eur/en/art-and-craft/178-years-of-craft.html

Very detailed account of the brand’s founding, history and Jonathan Anderson’s tenure. While true that the brand only became a global phenomenon under his direction, I do think the page could be improved with a mention of the designers who came before him.


BALMAIN


THE HOUSE

Definitely the most visually unique account of a house’s history, presented in a glossy 3D space which demonstrates their attention to detail. It’s a little hard to navigate sometimes, but thankfully you can also view it in a more standard format. Great and thorough biographies for Pierre and Olivier – but Decarnin definitely deserved a spot.


MIXED BAG

HERMES


https://www.hermes.com/uk/en/content/271366-six-generations-of-artisans/

Wonderfully extensive history on the founding and development of the brand (if a little visually dry), with current designers briefly listed on separate page. Sadly no mention of previous designers like Margiela, Gaultier etc.


BURBERRY



https://uk.burberry.com/c/burberry-heritage/

Great history on Thomas Burberry, but no official mentions of anyone since him – Bailey, Tisci or even Lee.


LOUIS VUITTON



https://uk.louisvuitton.com/eng-gb/magazine/articles/a-legendary-history

Comprehensive history of the brand’s founding and separate pages on current designers – but apart from a few coffee tables about their work still being sold online, any mention of Marc Jacobs or Virgil Abloh has been wiped from history.


VIVIENNE WESTWOOD


https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en...jEuMTc0NDE0NzY1Ni4wLjAuMA..#collection-filter

Wonderfully wordy write-up on the label’s founder, however it only seems to go as far as 1987…maybe they’re still working on it? No official mention of Andreas taking over.


BALENCIAGA



https://www.balenciaga.com/en-gb/cristóbal

A succinct yet respectful biography of Cristobal with some beautiful images of his early collections. Mentions of Demna, but nothing for those who came before him *ahem* Ghesquiere.


OSCAR DE LA RENTA





https://www.oscardelarenta.com/pages/about-us

It would be nice to see some old photos of the founder at work, but the length of his bio feels appropriate for a house of this size. I appreciate that they didn’t try to overshadow his legacy with Laura and Fernando’s bio – even if the airbrushing on their portrait is a little distracting. 😇


GUCCI



https://www.gucci.com/uk/en_gb/nst/history-of-gucci#FH_Media_|_History_of_Gucci_7

A semi-thorough account of the brand’s legacy including its founder, but the one-line mentions of Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, Alessandro Michele and Sabato De Sarno seem disrespectful considering their legacies. (Some are larger than others, I know…)


BAD

PRADA


https://www.prada.com/gb/en/pradasphere/special-projects/2020/miuccia-prada-raf-simons.html

They have an extensive archive dating back to the first runway show, but the only official bio on Miuccia seems to be on a page announcing Raf Simons’ arrival. I suppose this is her prerogative, but I’d still like to see something about Mario Prada and the company’s founding days.


FERRAGAMO



https://group.ferragamo.com/en/group/group-history

They have a whole museum dedicated to the brand’s heritage, but only a sparse timeline of the group’s activities on their business page – nothing about their rich artisanal history. They did manage a press release about Maximilian Davis’ appointment on another page.


DIANE VON FURSTENBERG



https://www.dvf.com/pages/rewards

The website doesn’t even have about “About Us” page, let alone a bio of the label’s founder or subsequent designers. The "World of DVF" only leads to a loyalty programme page. Even though she no longer designs at the label, this is ultimately her choice as the owner - but definitely doing a disservice to the brand.


CALVIN KLEIN


https://www.calvinklein.co.uk/about-calvin-klein

Unsurprising given the label’s continual restructuring, but they don’t seem to give much thought to their founder given his single mention. (No copy for any subsequent or current designers either.)


VALENTINO



https://www.valentino.com/en-gb/world-of-valentino/maison

A single mention of Valentino and Giancarlo, while the latest Chairman and CEO have multiple paragraphs dedicated to them below. Who cares about them?! Outrageously awful.


ALEXANDER MCQUEEN



https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/en-gb/stories/about-the-house

Granted, this official bio mentions Lee more than once – but it’s still so sparse as to become offensive. No picture of the founder, yet a full portrait of Seán McGirr – plus the site’s official ‘Collection Library’ archive only goes back to 2023. This alone makes me want Kering to go bankrupt.


ALAIA



https://www.maison-alaia.com/gb/shop/women/dialogue2_la_table_alaia_section

A cursory mention of the founder on a blog post about one of Pieter Mulier’s dining events (no official bio for him either), otherwise nothing at all. Absolutely shocking.


THE WORST

VERSACE



https://www.versace.com/gb/en/about-us/company-profile.html

Not one mention of Gianni on the entire website. Only a footnote about Donatella. She may not own the brand, but she's worked there long enough to warrant a full write-up - not to mention one for her brother and founder. Jail for everyone involved!

 

[blueorchid]

Oh my god... I LOVE THIS in depth research!!!

I remember that info about Hubert de Givenchy was buried pretty deeply on the Givenchy website (when whatever his name was there before Sarah Burton was hired), because it came up in one of the threads. Too lazy to look it up now. I possibly only found it on the Givenchy Beauty website.

 

[nationalsalt]

Oh my god... I LOVE THIS in depth research!!!

I remember that info about Hubert de Givenchy was buried pretty deeply on the Givenchy website (when whatever his name was there before Sarah Burton was hired), because it came up in one of the threads. Too lazy to look it up now. I possibly only found it on the Givenchy Beauty website.

Aha I'm glad, once I started I couldn't stop!😆

Omg you're right about Givenchy. Zero mention of Hubert on their main site, just a notice about Sarah's appointment (and nothing about Tisci et al...)

But then a full biography of Hubert on their standalone beauty website - https://www.givenchybeauty.com/int/en/house/housegivenchy.html

Weird!

(I realise I also forgot some other big houses like Celine, Lanvin etc. but I'm too tired to add more now.)

 

[unknown179]

I realise I also forgot some other big houses like Celine, Lanvin etc.

First of all I wanted to say how much I love this thread idea! I don't see anything at all about celine's history on their website.
On the Lanvin website there is an in-depth history of the house, but unfortunately it completely ignores any designers after 1946. (Alber Elbaz, Bouchra Jarrar, Olivier Lapidus & Bruno Sialelli). However, It does include a short biography of Peter Copping.

History of the House

Discover the history of the House Lanvin.

gb.lanvin.com

 

[blueorchid]

I think it’s weird how these houses pretend no one else existed other than the founder and current designer. What’s their motivation? Do they think we don’t know?

 

[nationalsalt]

First of all I wanted to say how much I love this thread idea! I don't see anything at all about celine's history on their website.
On the Lanvin website there is an in-depth history of the house, but unfortunately it completely ignores any designers after 1946. (Alber Elbaz, Bouchra Jarrar, Olivier Lapidus & Bruno Sialelli). However, It does include a short biography of Peter Copping.

History of the House

Discover the history of the House Lanvin.

gb.lanvin.com

View attachment 1370963

Thanks!

That's so strange not mention Celine's founder or - *Phoebe Philo*?! Likewise Alber Elbaz for Lanvin. Such a shame...

 

[nationalsalt]

I think it’s weird how these houses pretend no one else existed other than the founder and current designer. What’s their motivation? Do they think we don’t know?

My thoughts exactly, it's so bizarre! The whole point of these brands is to build on their legacies, especially of the founders, not just wipe the slate clean every time a new CD comes along. They might as well just start a new company if that was their desire.

 

[blueorchid]

That's so strange not mention Celine's founder or - *Phoebe Philo*?! Likewise Alber Elbaz for Lanvin. Such a shame...

Not even Michael Kors...

In particular, it actually bothers me that Lanvin doesn't mention anyone... Yes, of cours Alber, but Lanvin had a lot of pretty good designers, maybe not the most memorable, but quite solid. I particularly like Jules-François Crahay's work for Lanvin, it was kind of funky and he was there for TWENTY years. Then there's Antonio Castillo (Lanvin-Castillo years lol). Not even Maryll Lanvin or Claude Montana.

 

[perhydrol]

But to be fair, Lanvin had sketches from all their designers (including Lapidus!) on the website, so they must have got removed during the redesign.

 

[blueorchid]

@perhydrol We must also refer to the archived sites on the Wayback Machine, for true research to continue.

 

[JohannesL]

I think it is all about business nowadays no matter what glories their different designers achieved in the past, and they just want to focus on the designer of the moment and milk the brand's heritage to death. Sometimes I just feel that it had better let those brands sleep than revive them only for the sake of profiting from their founders legacy.

 

[blueorchid]

Chloé has a cute little time line on their site. It's pretty comprehensive, I think.

After trying to navigate the Balmain one... it's a bit too intense for me lol.

 

[KoV]

Going to have to read this in full later when I’m not supposed to be focused on getting some work done, but just wanted to say I think it’s a great thread idea and the clear thought + effort that went into it deserved commending! I’m not certain I disagree with your placements, but that’s part of the fun!

 

[unknown179]

Chloé has a cute little time line on their site. It's pretty comprehensive, I think.

https://www.chloe.com/experience/en/maison/
I like it a lot, just wish they separated the different designers bit more.

 

[unknown179]

After trying to navigate the Balmain one... it's a bit too intense for me lol.

balmain.com/gb/experience/virtual-space/the-house
They put way too much effort into this to completely disregard Christophe Decarnin's work at Balmain

 

[nationalsalt]

Chloé has a cute little time line on their site. It's pretty comprehensive, I think.

After trying to navigate the Balmain one... it's a bit too intense for me lol.

Yeah the Balmain one is a lot haha. I enjoy the creativity but it's not the easiest for just reading information.

 

[nationalsalt]

Going to have to read this in full later when I’m not supposed to be focused on getting some work done, but just wanted to say I think it’s a great thread idea and the clear thought + effort that went into it deserved commending! I’m not certain I disagree with your placements, but that’s part of the fun!

Many thanks, much appreciated Yeah it's not a perfect formula, I was doubting some of my own placements to be honest haha. Prada started higher but I had to be stern despite my love for Miuccia 😄

Also I love your profile pic!