From Chanel to Dries Van Noten, fashion's Game of Thrones as creative heads play musical chairs

Italian fashion designer Pierpaolo Piccioli Image: Julien De Rosa / AFP©

Who will take over at Chanel and where will Pierpaolo Piccioli go now that he has left Valentino? 

The fashion world is awash with such questions at a time of turmoil as sales slump and artistic directors play musical chairs.

Resignations, new appointments—the swirl of changes has begun to resemble a fashion version of "Game Of Thrones" as Milan Fashion Week begins. 

Not a month has gone by this year without its share of shock announcements: Piccioli left Valentino in March after more than two decades, with the Roman luxury brand announcing within a week the arrival of former Gucci head Alessandro Michele, whose official debut comes in Paris later this month. 

At Chanel, Virginie Viard, who took the reins after Karl Lagerfeld's death in 2019, bowed out in June, leaving vacant the top position at France's iconic privately run label.

Amid a flood of rumours as to who could take over the house of Coco Chanel, the name of Simon Porte Jacquemus, the young French designer with his namesake label, keeps being mentioned.  

Also in June, Dries Van Noten, the cult couturier from Antwerp, took his last bow, retiring after nearly 40 years at the top. 

Just last week, the suspense surrounding Givenchy—which has been without an artistic head since the departure of American designer Matthew Williams in January— finally ended.

British designer Sarah Burton, who spent more than two decades at Alexander McQueen, will take the helm of the French haute couture brand. 

In Milan this week, both Tom Ford and Blumarine are not showing on the catwalk, due to recent changes at the top.

Tom Ford announced two weeks ago that Haider Ackermann would be its new artistic director—with his first collection for autumn 2025 in Paris—while David Koma is to take the helm at Blumarine, following the sudden exit of Walter Chiapponi after just one season.

Also read: Fendi sees Roaring 20s at Milan Fashion Week in challenging times

Results in record time

Dismissed artistic directors are often subject to non-compete agreements of one to two years with the risk of a heavy financial penalty, preventing them from taking over rivals right away. 

But nothing prevents new employers from covering this cost themselves in order to allow a candidate to start work immediately. 

In this context, rumours are rife. How much longer will Kim Jones remain at Fendi? What about John Galliano, whose contract at Maison Margiela is nearing an end and whom some predict will end up back at Dior or Fendi?

"Artistic directors must make the numbers in one season, two at the most, and if the results are not there, on to the next one," said Alessia Pellarini, founder of The AP Archive, which rents out thousands of iconic fashion pieces. 

The work of an artistic director at the top of an iconic brand "takes time", said Pellarini, with an ability to understand its history and heritage and 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 offer," she said. 

A former Fendi design director, Pellarini noted that, even amid the musical chairs seen in the industry, "the typical profile continues to be a white European man." 

Some designers are eschewing luxury and heading to bigger but more mainstream brands. 

Britain's Clare Waight Keller, the former Chloe and Givenchy designer who made Meghan Markle's wedding dress, this month became creative director of Uniqlo, the Japanese casual brand. 

Meanwhile, Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara said it was doing a limited collection from Italy's Stefano Pilati, the former creative director at Yves Saint Laurent and Zegna.