CREATIVE LEADERSHIP IN FASHION: CREATING AN INDUSTRY WORTH A NEW GENERATION OF TALENT
To talk about the history of fashion houses, the designers, and the pieces of art we see on runways means a look into the minds of the visionaries behind each design; it means understanding where they come from. Like the creative process behind any project, whether it slowly becomes a reincarnation of the few words of inspiration you took from a page of a book or someone's outfit you idolized, kept, and cherished within your saves on Instagram. The minds of the creative directors within the brands we follow inspire us, and our every move also needs to start somewhere. Still, the job of a creative director, especially within fashion or any creative industry, remains as a discussion of relatively undefined skill sets. So, what do they do?
More than 85% of majors from top fashion schools are female, while women run 14% of the top 50 major fashion brands.
12.5% of fashion CEOs are women, and 26% of fashion board seats are held by women.
Creative directors have a job to see, visualize, and communicate beyond words; the goal is to inspire. Daniel Roseberry, now the creative director of Schiaparelli, the last head of design at Thom Browne, and also the first American to lead a French couture house, expands on his inspirations and abilities to communicate himself visually as being core to his role as Creative Director. His ideas all start with his charcoal pencil, through an elegantly sketched gown elaborated with velvet, handpainted in gold leaf, coming to life on the runway. During his time in Paris, nearing his Spring 2023 Couture collection, he brought Vogue closer to his encounters with the environment and grandeur of the French scenery. Roseberry, originally from Plano, Texas, makes this impression all the more new and alluring - his perspective kept fresh and humble. Roseberry particularly finds his encounters with the Standing Woman by Gaston Lachaise as a stand-out point for his Schiaparelli Spring 2023 inspiration and Dante's Inferno as a literary inspiration for the collection.
In a revelation of hypocrisy, the luxury fashion monster Kering proudly parades its commitment to diversity through numbers, mission statements, and diversity clauses. However, with its recent appointment following Seán McGirr’s succession to Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, reality is unveiled: all of Kering's creative directors now stand as white men. This move renders their touted diversity efforts shallow, with a mere 22% representation of white women, a 16% representation of men of color, and a glaring absence of women of color at zero percent. A stark reminder that behind the façade of inclusivity lies a disheartening lack of accurate representation and equity in fashion.
Gabriela Hearst, Uruguayan designer, marked the spirit of sustainability as aesthetic in fashion during her tenure as Creative Director for Chloé. Her departure marked the end of an era of timeless elegance and pioneering in sustainable fashion - her legacy established to inspire, setting a high bar for ethical practices within the industry, with an approach to creativity and practice rooted in her care for the world, her kids, and young lives to be represented through Chloé’s designs. Chemena Kamali's appointment signals a new chapter for the brand. The German-born designer who has also worked with Phoebe Philo's team, Clare Waight Keller, and Saint Laurent - stepped into her role at the label, preserving its core values while infusing her unique vision into the brand, emphasizing her connection to Chloé as personal, excited to interpret continuations of legacies carried on through her vision.
While seeing the scant numbers of women making up a big part of these fashion powerhouses makes it all the more gratifying, there's still work to be done to level the playing field and further curate the world of fashion under spaces that maximize each brand's potential. Pharrell Williams' appointment as Creative Director for Louis Vuitton Menswear, following Virgil Abloh, marked a significant moment in the fashion industry - some wonder whether other less represented designers deserved the forefront of the brand. At the same time, Williams’ creative endeavors stand symbolically as precisely what the brand is looking for, though outside of the fashion world, the merging of music, culture, and luxury fashion in an unprecedented way departs from the traditional model of selecting designers solely from within the fashion sphere, and a shift toward recognizing talent and influence beyond the industry’s conventional boundaries.
The creative genius behind all brands starts at the overarching hierarchical ladder in the fashion industry. The unspoken sense of patriarchy that underlies most industries, with the fashion industry being non-exempt. The image of women drives what fashion strives for: leading the silhouettes that inspire designers and make us think editorial, while women remain underrepresented and instead fore fronted mainly by men. In the world of high fashion, LVMH and Kering set the tone for the industry; Kering standing at 64% for women representation and LVMH at 71%. But even with these numbers, the issue lingers subconsciously. When traditional male-dominated structures are standard, and the subconscious bias against women affects things like promotions and decision-making, maternity leave, and societal expectations, it plays into the skewed gender balance at the core of most industries. We should look at creative leadership and ask how it enriches and gives the company a purpose. Creatives hire themselves. They look for people like themselves who have their own qualities. The creative director sets the tone not only for the brand’s next collection and each look and adds to the company’s voice. As consumers and watchers, our job is to notice patterns, ask if fashion houses look up to their own forefront, and wonder what it says about the company. Is it becoming and embodying the kind of fashion industry that a new generation wants to be part of?
Story for PhotoBook Magazine. Read for more @PhotoBookMagazine.
