What is the "expiration date" of a fashion creative director? Experts suggest not more than five years
After Clare Waight Keller's stepping down as Creative Director of Givenchy in April and the recent appointment to the post of Matthew Williams, the question arose on the so-called " expiration date " of fashion creative directors. Waight Keller spent in the French fashion house for three years, and there were no warning signs on the horizon of such a development. Nevertheless, the die is cast - the new Matthew Williams' collection is just around the corner, but its success is unlikely to allow any forecasts on his term as creative director.
According to Quartz, a leading investment management and research firm Bernstein conducted a study that found that successful creative directors have been working in luxury fashion brands for an average of 5 years.
Specialists analyzed the profitability of companies, the value of shares, and other economic criteria and concluded that after five years, financial indicators somehow begin to deteriorate. In this regard, such large conglomerates as LVMH and Kering change creative directors every five years, regardless of their success.
Critics of the report note that the sample of cases for the study is not representative enough, and also does not consider the sources of company income. As so, to give an example, the Hermès and Chanel brands get higher returns in accessories and perfumes, no matter who leads the design in the fashion house.
Let's not forget that the global pandemic has caused some cardinal changes in the fashion industry. So, the upcoming summer fashion weeks are going to be held online while many brands, such as Gucci, Dries Van Noten, and Saint Laurent, took the initiative to switch to their production schedule and presentations of new collections. Whether the current situation in the industry will affect the expiration date of creative directors is too early to say. However, one thing is clear - today we are hostages to circumstances and external factors that can both lift us the ladder as well as take down a peg.
Read more latest fashion news:
New Fendi's collection is blacked out with a marker by Joshua Vides
