From Virginie Viard to Matthieu Blazy – 40 Creative Director Changes in 2024

At my first fashion internship over ten years ago, the founder of the company told me something that I’ll never forget: “Everyone is replaceable.” I kept those words in my mind when struggling through the London commute to a fashion job that paid me well under the living wage but was my stepping stone to where I am now – if I didn’t excel there despite the long hours, I would just be replaced by somebody else who wanted to succeed. And the same “Everyone is replaceable” idea certainly holds true for other fashion roles, including that of the creative director especially in 2024 – even Virginie Viard with her three decades of experience at Chanel, having worked so closely with her predecessor Karl Lagerfeld, now replaced by Matthieu Blazy from Bottega Veneta.

Chanel Fall 2019 [Paris] Creative Direction: Karl Lagerfeld (posthumous collection); Photo: NOWFASHION.com

Viard took up Lagerfeld’s position in 2019 following his death but was ousted from her role after only five years. To be honest I feel like the only person who actually liked what she was doing, and even preferred her to Lagerfeld. Hear me out before you click away in disgust: while his runway shows were more about the spectacle of it all (the supermarket, the airport, the giant iceberg), Viard’s shows were more toned down and allowed us to focus on the clothes instead, and to actually appreciate them. The immense criticism of clothes under Viard also begs the question that perhaps the clothes had always been a problem and the previous spectacle was a distraction, but that’s a topic for another day.

Following the departure of Virginie Viard, and months of speculation about who would take up her position (Hedi Slimane! John Galliano! Simon Porte Jacquemus!) it was finally announced that Matthieu Blazy had left Bottega Veneta to be replaced by Louise Trotter from Carven… then given the role of creative director at Chanel.

It remains to be seen what happens next – Daniel Lee had moved from Bottega Veneta to Burberry in 2021 after reinvigorating the former brand. Unfortunately he finds himself now floundering at Burberry under great expectations from a brand that struggles to decide what it wants to be – just look at the many rebrands it has been through in the past few years. Customers are just as confused (and turned off by high prices) with revenues dropping YoY^[1] according to the latest financial results from the company. Hopefully Matthieu Blazy doesn’t encounter a similar fate as I think there is similar confusion regarding Chanel – should it be traditional or should it expand into new styles? Should Chanel appeal to its core customers who purchase and drive revenue, or to social media fans who can make or break a collection in the public’s eyes (because how many of its outspoken social media fans are customers, and how many of its customers are outspoken social media fans?) Viard seemed to have been pushing towards a newer direction which drew heavy criticism on social media from those who ultimately wanted ‘Karl’, but in reality she increased sales for the brand, with revenue at $19.7bn in 2023, up 75% from 2018.^[2] This wasn’t enough to save her position though, so what will be enough to keep Mattieu Blazy safe?

From Matthew M. Williams leaving Givenchy on New Years Day, 2024 has been quite a year – here are 41 creative changes for the year, and with just over two weeks to go until 2025, it remains to be seen if any other big announcements will be made, especially with so many designers being free. John Galliano, who left Maison Margiela earlier this month has already teased that his next move will be announced soon, and rumours are swirling that Pierpaolo Piccioli, formerly of Valentino, will be joining Fendi to head womenswear (following Kim Jones’ departure in October). The designer moves this year raised some important questions such as the gender gap: why do so many men hold the biggest creative director roles? Where are the women, especially in positions catering to women? I’ve analysed some data and included it at the bottom of this post.

Here’s a month-by-month round up of what’s happened this year, from the biggest brands like Chanel and Fendi to the more niche labels like Filippa K and Soulland. There are also some interesting appointments in high street brands like Gap and Uniqlo – read on to find out more. Only two months were announcement-free – April and August.

January – Matthew M. Williams, Adrian Appiolaza

Embed from Getty Images

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 22: Designer Matthew M. Williams walks the runway during the Givenchy Menswear Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 22, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The year started off the way it intended to continue – Matthew M. Williams left Givenchy to focus on his own brand 1017 Alyx 9SM, with his final collections for Givenchy being the men’s and women’s Pre-Fall 2024 collections. Although the news was announced in December 2023, Williams’ date of departure was the first of January 2024.

Also in January, Adrian Appiolaza became the creative director of Moschino, taking up the role after the death of previous creative director Davide Renne. Appiolaza had previously worked at brands including Alexander McQueen, Chloé and Miu Miu.

February – Zac Posen, Liisa Kessler, Anna Tuernell

Embed from Getty Images

PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 28: Zac Posen attends the Business of Fashion BoF 500 Class of 2024 during Paris Fashion Week at Shangri-La Hotel Paris on September 28, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for The Business of Fashion)

Zac Posen was made creative director for American brand Gap, making him the first person to hold such a position for the brand since Patrick Robinson, who had left in 2011.

Also in February, Liisa Kessler’s position as Creative Director of Filippa K was no more. The Swedish brand, founded in 1993 by Filippa Knutsson, Karin Hellners and Patrik Kihlborg was one of the pioneers of the minimalist look now associated with Scandinavian fashion.

She was replaced a few days later by Anna Tuernell, who had established the brand Teurn Studios in 2021 with Moa Strand.

March – Walter Chiapponi, Dries Van Noten, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Alessandro Michele

The first news of the month came on the 14th, with Walter Chiapponi leaving his role of creative designer at Blumarine, having only been there since November 2023.

Embed from Getty Images

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 22: Designer Dries Van Noten acknowledges the audience after the Dries Van Noten Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 show at the Babcock factory in La Courneuve as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 22, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Bord/Getty Images)

The news that made me saddest this year was Dries Van Noten announcing he was stepping down from his namesake label, with his Spring 2025 menswear show to be his last. One of the Antwerp Six, Dries Van Noten is known for beautiful prints and colours.

Just a few days later, one of the biggest announcements of the year came – Pierpaolo Piccioli was parting ways with Valentino. It seemed quite prophetic that his final collection featured all black looks, and immediately, rumours started swirling about who was to take his place. Less than a week later Alessandro Michele (formerly of Gucci) was chosen, to much chagrin according to the comments on the announcement post on Instagram. The connections between the two men and brands are quite interesting – read a deep dive here.

May – Michael Rider, Haider Ackermann, Veronica Leoni

Polo Ralph Lauren’s creative director womenswear, Michael Rider, left his role on 14th May.

The next day, Colombian-born Haider Ackermann was announced as the first ever creative director for performance luxury outerwear brand Canada Goose. After moving to Belgium in 1994 to study at the fashion department of the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Ackermann interned at John Galliano and Bernhard Willhelm and worked at brands including Dior and Berluti.

Embed from Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 19: Haider Ackermann attends the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2024 at The Roof Gardens on November 19, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

At the end of the month, another new(ish) role was created as Veronica Leoni was made creative director at Calvin Klein, reviving the Calvin Klein Collections label after its 2019 closing shortly after Raf Simons’ departure in 2018. Simons had renamed the label to 205W39NYC, the address of the brands headquarters. Leoni comes with experience gained at brands including Jil Sander and The Row, and in 2020 founded her own label, Quira, which was a finalist for the 2023 LVMH prize.

June – Virginie Viard, Silas Adler, Peter Copping

Probably the least surprising announcement this year, but one that really frustrated me: Virginie Viard was announced to be leaving Chanel on the 6th of June 2024. Despite the increase in revenue that she brought to the brand, along with her 30+ years of experience there, public opinion against her seemed to be too strong.

Embed from Getty Images

PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 23: Designer Virginie Viard walks the runway during the Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 23, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Toward the end of the month, founder and creative director of Copenhagen-based brand Soulland, Silas Adler left the brand, leaving CEO and co-owner Jacob Kampp Berliner to take full ownership and run the company.

Also at the end of June, Lanvin announced that Peter Copping would be the brand’s new artistic director, a position that was previously held by Bruno Sialelli up until April 2023.

July – Peter Hawkings, Anna Lundbäck Dyhr & Frederik Dyhr, Paul Andrew, David Koma

Embed from Getty Images

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Fashion designer Peter Hawkings at the Tom Ford fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 on February 22, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Estrop/Getty Images)

Virginie Viard was not the only ‘most likely successor’ to go – Peter Hawkings, who seemed like the perfect person to succeed Tom Ford at the latter’s eponymous label, was gone after only a year. He had worked alongside Ford for 25 years, making him a natural choice for the role, but I’ve since started calling this the ‘rebound’ effect: we (the public, consumers, fashion executives) don’t want the successor, we want a carbon copy of the original – which we never get – leaving us disappointed and the ‘natural next-in-line’ without a job.

Two days after Peter Hawkings’ departure, footwear brand Sergio Rossi (owned by Lanvin Group) made an announcement of its own: Paul Andrew was to be the new creative director. The label had been without such a role since Angelo Ruggeri left his position as design director in 2016. Paul Andrew comes with a great work history for the position: he launched his eponynous footwear label in 2013 and won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award a year later, and also has work experience at Salvatore Ferragamo, having been the brand’s design director then women’s creative director.

That same day, husband and wife design duo Anna Lundbäck Dyhr and Frederik Dyhr left London-based label Joseph.

Finally, on the 31st July, Georgian fashion designer David Koma was announced as the latest creative director for Blumarine. Having established his own label in London in 2009, David Koma’s first collection for Blumarine will be Pre-Fall 2025.

September – Clare Waight Keller, Haider Ackermann, Glenn Martens, Sarah Burton, Alberta Ferretti

September’s first creative director news began with Clare Waight Keller becoming creative director at Uniqlo. With prior experience at Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and Givenchy, Waight Keller launched the Uniqlo: C Collection in September 2023 to much success, and was then made creative director of the brand this year.

Just the next day, Haider Ackermann was in the news again for his appointment as creative director at Tom Ford, with no news of his position at Canada Goose changing in any way.

On September 6th, Glenn Martens stepped down as creative director of Y/Project after 11 years, remaining creative director of Diesel, a role he has held since October 2020.

Diesel Spring 2025 [Milan] Creative Direction: Glenn Martens; Photo: NOWFASHION.com

Sarah Burton was appointed creative director of Givenchy on 9th September – she had previously been creative director of Alexander McQueen following McQueen’s death in 2010, up until September 2023 when she was replaced by Seán McGirr.

Embed from Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Sarah Burton, winner of the Inspiration Award, attends the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards 2021, in partnership with Armani Beauty, at Claridge’s Hotel on November 2, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Harper’s Bazaar)

At her Spring 2025 runway show in Milan, Alberta Ferretti announced that it was to be her last as creative director at her namesake brand.

October – Hedi Slimane, Michael Rider, Filippo Grazioli, Alberto Caliri, Kim Jones, Lorenzo Serafini

Embed from Getty Images

French designer Hedi Slimane acknowledges the audience at the end of the Celine fashion show during the Menswear Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2023 Fashion Week in Paris on June 26, 2022. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP) (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

On the 2nd October, Hedi Slimane left Celine, having been creative director for seven years, with his replacement being swiftly announced: Michael Rider from Polo Ralph Lauren.

The following day, another quick change was made, this time at Missoni: Filippo Grazioli was out, Alberto Caliri was in.

A week later, Kim Jones left Fendi, where he had been artistic director of womenswear and couture for four years, choosing instead to focus on his role at Dior Homme. A replacement has not yet been announced but if the rumours are to be believed, Pierpaolo Piccioli is to take his place.

At Alberta Ferretti, the founder’s replacement was announced from within Aeffe, the luxury fashion group that owns Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy, Moschino, and Pollini. Lorenzo Serafini, previously the creative director of Aeffe’s diffusion line Philosophy, will now lead Alberta Ferretti. Founded by Alberta Ferretti in 1984, the Philosophy line will be phased out as Serafini transitions into his new role.

November – Phillip Lim, Peter Do, Maurizio Donadi, Mario Arena

Creative director and co-founder of his eponymous label, in November 2024 Phillip Lim left the brand after twenty years.

Embed from Getty Images

Creative director Peter Do (C) waves to the crowd after the Helmut Lang show during New York Fashion Week in New York City, on February 9, 2024. Bubble wrap, balaclavas and puffy jackets took center stage at the Helmut Lang show that kicked off New York Fashion Week on Friday. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Peter Do left his role as creative director at Helmut Lang after less than two years in a move that was pretty unsurprising. I don’t think anyone can fill Helmut Lang’s shoes, and it felt like Peter Do gave 100% effort to his own label and was much less inspired at Helmut Lang, at least in my opinion. It’s difficult living up to the hype that surrounds such a position but hype or not, I found his first Helmut Lang collection underwhelming, despite being a big fan of his work for his namesake label. I did think the Spring 2025 collection for Helmut Lang was a strong one, but I guess it’s too late now. In the case of brands like Helmut Lang, it may be best to just let them die as there may not be anybody who can revive them in a way that satisfies those who are fans of the brand. It’s like replacing an iconic lead singer of a band – it can’t be done, can it?

In the style of Clare Waight Keller becoming creative director of Uniqlo, newly revived brand Champion appointed a creative director of their own: Maurizio Donadi, who comes with experience working at Ralph Lauren, Armani, Benetton and Diesel. Donadi, with decades of expertise in vintage fashion, is being tasked with leading Champion in their new direction that focuses on tapping into its archives and creating collections that have been showcased with pop-up shops in locations including Paris’ Rue Saint-Honoré.

The final move for November came at Joseph as Mario Arena was hired from as the brand’s creative director, having formerly held the role of product and design director at JW Anderson.

December – Julian Klausner, John Galliano, Matthieu Blazy, Louise Trotter

We’re barely two weeks into December and already there is plenty of news: the first came on the 9th with Julian Klausner being appointed successor to Dries Van Noten at the former’s eponymous label. Klausner has been part of the design team since 2018 – it remains to be seen whether the aforementioned ‘rebound’ effect will happen to him too.

Embed from Getty Images

PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 25: A model walks the runway during the Maison Margiela Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pierre Suu/Getty Images)

He created the couture show that went on to inspire so many others, not just in terms of clothing but also in terms of model walks and runway theatrics – John Galliano announced his departure from Maison Margiela on the 11th December, teasing that news of his next venture would come very soon. Rumours are flying that he will return to Dior, the house that fired him in 2011 following a video of him making anti-Semitic comments in a drunken tirade, but would that be a smart PR move for Dior considering that $57 handbag scandal they keep getting reminded of in social media comments?

The very next day another big shake-up happened: Matthieu Blazy left Bottega Veneta, Louise Trotter left Carven and was hired by Bottega Veneta. And all of a sudden the biggest fashion question of the year was answered: Who will be the next creative director at Chanel? Matthieu Blazy.

Data Analysis – The Gender Gap

A key theme that kept arising this year throughout all these announcements was the gender gap within fashion’s creative director roles, where women are underrepresented, a curious phenomenon in a position that is creating items targeted to women. I looked at the genders of the people mentioned in the forty moves above, which means that some were double-counted – these are the results:

The majority of moves this year were made by men, with 15 men stepping into a role and 15 leaving a role, for a total of 30 moves out of all 40 discussed in this article, meaning that three-quarters of all the moves here were made by men. Only nine of all the moves discussed were made by women, with five being appointed to a role and four leaving one. There was one male and female design duo who left a role.

I also looked at the Top 50 brands in the Luxury & Premium Ranking for 2024 according to Brand Directory.^[3] The list included some that were not fashion brands, so I eliminated those and looked at creative directors of any fashion brands included in the list; below are the fashion brands on the list by their ranking. What’s really interesting is the amount of brands here that were also mentioned within the above list of creative director moves – they’re are marked in bold.
2. Louis Vuitton – Nicolas Ghesquière, Pharrell Williams
3. Chanel – Matthieu Blazy
4. Hermès – Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski
5. Gucci – Sabato de Sarno
6. Dior – Maria Grazia Chiuri
9. Ferrari – Rocco Iannone
12. Prada – Miuccia Prada & Raf Simons
15. Armani – Giorgio Armani
17. Burberry – Daniel Lee
18. Yves Saint Laurent – Anthony Vaccarello
19. Coach – Stuart Vevers
20. Givenchy – Sarah Burton
22. Moncler – Remo Ruffini
23. Céline – Michael Rider
27. Loewe – Jonathan Anderson
31. Bottega Veneta – Louise Trotter
32. Dolce & Gabbana – Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana
35. Valentino – Alessandro Michele
36. Fendi – Silvia Venturini Fendi
37. Kenzo – Nigo
39. Ferragamo – Maximilian Davis
44. Versace – Donatella Versace
45. Tom Ford – Haider Ackermann

Two thirds of these positions are held by men (discounting the M+M duo at Dolce & Gabbana), with a quarter being held by women. What’s interesting to note is that although Louis Vuitton is the highest ranked fashion brand, the year’s fashion revenue results have been far from positive, with LVMH reporting disappointing results for Q3 2024.^[4] LVMH also owns brands including Celine, Dior, Givenchy and Fendi.

The owner of Bottega Veneta, Gucci, and Alexander McQueen, Kering, reported revenue down 15% vs the same quarter in 2023.^[5] Female-led Miu Miu, along with the Prada group were the anomaly in the luxury market, reporting an 18% YoY increase in net revenue for the first nine months of 2024, with Miu Miu performing exceptionally well: retail sales were up 97% YoY.^[6]

References

1. Burberry
2. The Guardian
3. Brand Directory
4. Forbes
5. Kering
6. Prada Group