Chanel

September 18, 2024

Who will be the next artistic director of Chanel? Where will Pierpaolo Piccioli go after his departure from Valentino in March? From New York to London, today in Milan, tomorrow in Paris, these questions fuel the great soap opera of the global “fashion game”.

Alessandro Michele – © PixelFormula

This is because, in a context of recession for the big houses, the transfer window for artistic directors has never been so hectic, to the point of taking on the appearance of “Game Of Thrones”, while Milan Fashion Week is in full swing.

This year, not a month has gone by without its share of announcements of resignations or appointments: Pierpaolo Piccioli left Valentino in March and in the process, the Roman house appointed Alessandro Michele as its creative director, whose show scheduled for September 29 in Paris is one of the most anticipated.

At Chanel, Virginie Viard, who naturally succeeded Karl Lagerfeld after his death in 2019, announced her departure in June, leaving a key position vacant. Rumors are rife and the name of Simon Porte Jacquemus is being mentioned to take over the house of Coco.

The same month, Dries Van Noten, the cult Antwerp designer, bowed out for his final show at the helm of his own eponymous house.

Last week, the suspense surrounding Givenchy, orphaned since the departure of Matthew Williams in January, ended with the announcement of the arrival of Sarah Burton, a transfer from the English house Alexander McQueen, where she had been in charge for over 13 years.

“Next!”

For the brands that usually show in Milan, the game is the same and explains their absence from the catwalks this season: Blumarine has just appointed Georgian David Koma as its head, Tom Ford, after the departure of Peter Hawkings in July after a year in his post, appointed Haider Ackermann, the darling of stars Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner, at the beginning of September.

David Koma – Frederic Aranda

Artistic directors dismissed by fashion houses are often subject to one- to two-year non-compete agreements preventing them from immediately taking over the reins of a house.

These periods are generously compensated but nothing prevents their new employer from covering this cost to shorten their time to take up their position.

In this context, rumors are flying. How much longer will Kim Jones remain at the head of design at Fendi? What about John Galliano, whose contract at Maison Margiela is coming to an end and whom some see at Dior or Fendi?

“Behind these announcements, there are humans, there are destinies. There are the lives of people who give their intelligence, their vision, their time, their passion to houses under market pressure, who want immediate results, in record time. Artistic directors must make the numbers in one season, two at the most, and if the results are not there, the next one!” observes Alessia Pellarini, creative consultant for brands and founder of The AP Archive, an archive of flagship pieces from the history of fashion.

“European white man”

“We must be aware that this work takes time, requires understanding the brand, its heritage, its history, in order to offer something new, but without turning everything upside down. This short-term vision to meet market demands only lowers the cultural quality of the offering,” she laments.

Clare Waight Keller – Uniqlo

She herself left in 2023 the direction of the Fendi style office, a position she held for eleven years, working side by side with Karl Lagerfeld and then Kim Jones.

Is she legitimate enough to take over the artistic direction of a major house? “Yes, except that I am a woman! Even though I have all the qualities and the perfect CV, in this game of musical chairs, we are still forced to note that the typical profile continues to be a white European man!”

The counterattack seems to be coming where it was least expected with major designers turning to more mainstream brands. Clare Waight Keller, ex-Chloé then Givenchy, has just taken over as artistic director of the Japanese giant Uniqlo. And Zara announced a capsule collection in early October created by Stefano Pilati, former artistic director of Saint Laurent then Zegna.

By Isabelle SCIAMMA
Milan (Italie), 18 sept 2024 (AFP)