The Debrief: How Big Brands Choose Their Creative Directors

The Business of Fashion Podcast

The Business of Fashion

Fashion & Beauty, Business, Arts

4.6 • 770 Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2022

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Louis Vuitton is expected to name its Virgil Abloh successor within weeks. Lauren Sherman quizzes Imran Amed on what luxury labels think about when recruiting top designers.

Background:

Louis Vuitton has spent almost a year searching for a Virgil Abloh successor after the designer died in November 2021. According to sources, Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner and Telfar Clemens are among the names that were considered by owner LVMH, and the decision is expected to be announced within weeks. But how do brands like Louis Vuitton even go about finding a designer?

“Without the creative energy, without that kind of excitement, there’s nothing to sell,” said Imran Amed, BoF founder and editor-in-chief.

Key Insights:

While all brands have their own personality and the situations that necessitate finding a new creative director differ, the things most brands look for in a leader are similar.
Executives have to consider whether they’re looking for revolution, like when Gucci tapped Alessandro Michele for creative energy and new ideas, or evolution, like when Saint Laurent tapped Anthony Vaccarello to keep its aesthetic formula after Hedi Slimane departed.
A strong vision is the most important thing. But creative directors also need to have commercial sensibility and the ability to work in a corporate environment.
One of Abloh’s achievements was that he managed to build a community at Louis Vuitton, and engage consumers who had been traditionally excluded by the luxury industry.

Additional Resources:

Virgil Abloh: Building on a Legacy: Like Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Gianni Versace before him, the late Virgil Abloh leaves a powerful legacy. What does this mean for Off-White and Louis Vuitton?
Which Luxury Leadership Configuration Works Best? In luxury fashion, the right configuration of creative and commercial leadership is critical to success, writes Pierre Mallevays.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Imran Ahmed founder and CEO of the Business of Fashion. Welcome to the
0:08.2	BOF podcast. It's Friday, September 23rd. This week, we're turning the tables on the BOF podcast
0:14.8	as our chief correspondent Lauren Sherman quizzes me about how big luxury brands go about choosing and appointing new creative
0:23.4	directors. It's a topic in the ether at the moment, with a yet to be announced successor for
0:28.8	Virgil Ablo at Louis Vuitton menswear, and the rumors circulating about a potential change at Berberie,
0:35.3	where Ricardo Tichy's contract is up for renewal in the coming months.
0:40.0	So, without further ado, here's Lauren Sherman asking me the questions on the B.OF podcast.
0:50.5	Hello, and welcome to the debrief from the business of fashion, where each week we go deep on our most popular B.OF professional stories
0:57.3	with the correspondents who created them.
0:59.4	I'm Lauren Sherman.
1:01.1	Fashion can feel like an endless game of musical chairs,
1:03.8	with major luxury brands constantly on the hunt for the freshest,
1:07.3	most in-demand talent to take their sales to the next level.
1:11.9	Recently, there have been reports that Berberi is looking to replace Ricardo Tishi, who joined the company five years ago
1:16.8	from Giovanni. Former Bottega Veneta designer Daniel Lee is rumored to be at the top of that
1:22.6	short list. Then there's Louis Vuitton, the biggest fashion brand in the world, which has been looking
1:27.2	for a successor to the late Virgil Ablo for nearly a year now.
1:31.0	But how does a company like LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, go about finding that key person?
1:36.8	Today, I'm joined by EOF founder and editor-in-chief, Imran Amma, to lay out the questions companies ask when they are hiring a new creative director.
1:46.7	Imron, thank you so much for being here. It's such a pleasure to have you on the podcast.
1:52.0	I have never been on your podcast before. So it's a pleasure. I'm so honored that you invited me.
1:59.5	It's very exciting. Well, you were the perfect person to talk about this.
	...

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