I hope someone here will be able to tell me.
So, when they show Karl or Valentino doing these little s..h..itty sketches of dresses. Is it ALL they do???
I mean, do they just pass these little picture to a team of faceless workers who than interpret it? Or they control the design from start to finish? Somehow I doubt. But I'd like someone involved in the industry explain further.
We had a little thread about who really designs those handbags. Like that Gryson girl for Marc Jacobs. I really wonder if that's the case with most of the brands out there.
Also, I am very pissed about this situation. I guess this is buisiness. But with something like McQ - Mcqueen has absolutely nothing to do with the label, excpet the name, the quality is Zara-esque yet a saw a blazer for, like, 500$... makes me so angry
if you watch signe chanel, the documentary (available on youtube) you'll see it's not like he does the whole process at all, but he supervises. he does the sketching as you said, then explains what the new collection is like to the "premières d'atelier" who direct small groups of seamstresses. Then he has to control how every outfit evolves down to the day of the fitting, when he styles it with accessories. it's an inmense job he does, as he is the one with the whole responsibility. the styling, every look, cohesiveness throughout the collection, the setting, the music, the campaign... he doesnt create it all himself, how could he! and we must keep in mind that if people dont like, say the setting, it will be his fault! and we all know even if he didnt get down and dirty painting the huge chanel jacket in grand palais... still he gets credit for it! it's the same thing with the clothes.
in the same video you see a girl who seems more responsible of the shoes, just guessing, but besides knowing how he wants them to look like, karl just cant tell you exactly how the shoe has to be designed. i am not even talking about producing it (massaro does that), but designing the shoes is something that a different designer who is specialized in shoes must do, no?
just one more thing in defence of my dear karl (or designers in general) is that, as also karl emphasizes in one of his interviews, he may rarely "touch fabric", not to mention a needle... but if ever a seamstress needs his help on how to create a cut/volume/shape/proportion, he has to know exactly what to tell her. And thanks to his vast experience, he's got the skills and know-how to indicate her precisely how she has to do it, without necessarily doing it himself.
for other creative designers, whose case i dont know so well, i would say that they of course need a team that develops their ideas. after all, they are the ones setting the mood of the season to come, and to develop certain ideas, not actual designs. it seems like it's not a lot of work maybe, or not such a big deal... but again, think of it as a matter of responsibility: if they do wrong, it's their head that the company wants.they are the ones getting fired, when suzy menkes says she no likes!
a last note, i do agree with you on second lines that are actually only licences for the name... so it's plain quality clothing + expensive label attached... it stinks!!
...and as far as I'm informed..Karl doesn't design too much for Fendi..I heard he rarely visits the Fendi ateliers and HQ 
...Gre8 Post...
i think it was yves saint laurent who worked there and died sort of recently
