Last Call : Why Are Designers Leaving ?
On a routine Thursday, I woke up and checked my phone no differently than I do any other day. Then, there it was in black and white, Women’s Wear Daily confirming the departure of Gucci’s creative director Sabato de Sarno. Following the rumors of a fledgling company and a very nonlinear image for the brand I was not surprised. However, it brought forward this never ending game of musical chairs in the climate of a more corporate focused fashion industry.
Within the past year, it has been just departure after departure, and appointment after appointment with creative directors. So I thought it best to do a recap of who has left and who’s coming on board and who I believe could make an impressive comeback.
Sabato and Gucci’s Uncoupling
Starting with the “mutual” stepping down of De Sarno who was appointed in the spring of 2023, the departure comes at an eerily awkward time as Gucci’s sales figures have notably been slipping over the two year tenure. Already in the Kering family, he took the job after working at Valentino since 2009. Ironically, the current director of Sabato’s alma mater, is former Gucci director Alessandro Michele who allegedly was sacked after a small slip in sales. Quite comical now isn’t it ?
Albeit, a recession is something the fashion industry faced previously but Sabato’s output of work did not match the pace Kering had hoped for in the midst of ‘quiet luxury’ hype. Quite frankly, no one is surprised. I think not giving the man the opportunity to showcase his final collection does send a bad message and is quite crude of Kering. But he did not have a vision like Michele or Tom Ford that sold a world, he just sold products.
Sabato’s debut for Gucci, SS 2024
My pitch for his replacement would be Riccardo Tisci who gained fame for his decade at the French institution of Givenchy, but then later gained infamy at the British label Burberry. I think his Italian flair and cult following can translate well for Gucci in both sales and iconography, but with a strong corporate hand on his shoulder to guide his eye.
Tisci with Bella Hadid and Nicki Minaj at the 2022 Met Gala
When Glenn Met Margiela
Following the comeback collection to end all comebacks, John Galliano’s spring haute couture offering for Maison Margiela last year, was undoubtedly labeled thee show of 2024. But there was buzz as to what fashion’s most controversial genius had next to say… But nobody suspected it would be a goodbye.
Who could fill the coveted tabi shoes of the mastermind ? Then, like Kismet, Belgian designer Glenn Martins was announced as the successor. Glenn, who worked at now defunct label Y/Project for almost 11 years, did double duty at revived denim powerhouse, Diesel where he still serves. But his crown achievement was his awestrucking turn as a guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2022 for the spring couture collection. A body of work so illustrious it still is discussed to this day.
We know Glenn can dress the K-pop superstar at Diesel and the high-end couture client at Gaultier, so I am very intrigued by the world-building we will have at Margiela which would be a favorable fusion of his streetwear Jekyll and high-octane Hyde.
Casey and Mugler ?
With a shocking turn of events, there is a buzz that Mugler may be without a man in charge as well. According to sources at WWD, the house of Mugler and current director Casey Cadwaller are planning an amicable split. Noticeably missing on the Paris fashion week calendar, where the brand is usually one of the highlight shows, it does add flames to the fire.
Stepping in after David Koma in 2018, Casey propelled the Mugler franchise into mainstream success with hero products like catsuits, a hit collab with Jimmy Choo, tour costumes for pop acts like Beyonce and Dua Lipa, and well over 150 retail partners along with a triple digit growth rate. In the midst of COVID, Cadwaller released cunning films for collections featuring the top models and actresses from Hunter Schafer to Bella Hadid strutting to Shygirl.
Although I did like Casey’s work, his deliverance in the latter days at Mugler has waned in comparison to his initial offerings. Misguided collections and catsuits have become the definitives of a very skilled artist.
Moving forward, I would be interested in another under the radar talent, preferably Richard Quinn based out of London. His designs evoke a mastering of construction from a bygone era, his camp play with proportions are wrapped in a sparkly confection that reminds of Manfred’s eye for tailoring and costuming. I selfishly am angling for Quinn to take the job so we can have a revival of Mugler’s couture division
Kim Jones (Finally) Retires; For Now
For his last official presentation as Dior Homme’s creative director, it felt very befitting to have a ballet element as a thread in the narrative, a theatrical final bow for a remarkable position he held. Although his work at Fendi was divisive- I, the negative half- the Dior days truly were definitional to how Jones is captured as a designer.
The LVMH machine is akin to how Disney runs the Marvel and Star Wars enterprises, a franchise of heroes being swapped or tagging alongside each other. Except, the merch being sold goes for at least four figures. Another hero in the LVMH canon, is Loewe dynamite Jonathan Anderson who is rumored to replace both Jones and Maria Gracia Churi, creative head of womenswear, at Dior.
Jones’ departure from Fendi was well received generally well, his work was lackluster aside from standout collections like SS 2024 or the highly debated FENDACE collab with the house of Versace and the icon herself, Donatella Versace. But after Marc Jacobs’ guest work for the Resort 2023 collection, I think he would be a fabulous follow-up. Marc is a man made for grandeur, alongside Silvia Venturi Fendi’s calm, it would be a parallel pairing that would work quite well.
Marc and Kim for Vogue US, photographed by Annie Leibovitz (2022)
The Teflon Donatella
Donatella is not just a designer, but a testament to longevity and drive as a woman in the fashion business. She, like her Italian powerhouse peer Miuccia Prada, are carrying a family business and a standard of luxury on their backs. But unfortunately for my personal favorite designer and glamazon, that standard is being called into question after a period of readily declining sales in the United States and Europe.
The Capri Holdings Group acquired the house of Versace in 2023 with an estimated $1 billion price tag, but the Americans are looking to pass the company over after the legendary blonde clashed with the investment group. The contract with Capri expires in February, and with that, so does Donatella’s position as creative director. Rumors are swirling that Dario Vitale, who recently departed Miu Miu as design director, is up for the role.
Donatella is no stranger to collaboration. Alexander Mcqueen worked with the diva on the Fall/Winter 1998 couture collection. In 2015, partnered with then-rising-designer Anthony Vaccarello for Versus as co-creative director before he moved to Saint Laurent in 2016, and then invited pop icon Dua Lipa for a foray into fashion with the Resort 2023 collection. For this new chapter, I would encourage her to stay on board with Vitale, he knows how to make a successful brand but she is the brand. It just wouldn’t be Versace without her.