What we talk about when we talk about fashion succession rumours

At the end of March, not long after the autumn 2024 season wrapped up, we asked ourselves a simple question: Is a fashion vibe shift on the way? It was spurred by a slew of new (and newish) creative-director hires – Alessandro Michele at Valentino, Seán McGirr at Alexander McQueen, Chemena Kamali at Chloé, Sabato De Sarno at Gucci, Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton men’s, Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford, and Adrian Appiolaza at Moschino – plus the vacancies at the top jobs at Lanvin, Givenchy, and Dries Van Noten. (The news of Van Noten’s retirement left the industry shell-shocked.) At the time, it felt very obvious that the industry was about to enter an era of big change.

Then in June, Virginie Viard exited Chanel, where she had been artistic director for five years following the death of Karl Lagerfeld, and Lanvin named Peter Copping its new creative director. This was followed by the July headlines that Peter Hawkings was out at Tom Ford after only two seasons and, a little less consequentially, that Paul Helbers had been shown the door at Fforme, the new New York label where he had been getting strong notices, and that David Koma had been named as Walter Chiapponi’s replacement at Blumarine. September brought news that Haider Ackermann would be taking over Tom Ford and Sarah Burton, whose departure from Alexander McQueen left more than a few people heartbroken, would be the new creative director at Givenchy. Last week, the day after the spring 2025 runway shows concluded in Paris, Celine announced that Hedi Slimane was leaving the brand after seven years, naming the American designer Michael Rider as his replacement a few hours later. The next day, Missoni announced that its creative director, Filippo Grazioli, would be stepping down to be replaced by longtime Missoni veteran Alberto Caliri. Phew!

What at first felt like standing on the edge of a precipice of change is turning out to mostly be a dizzying game of musical chairs. The promised vibe shift hasn’t quite arrived. Instead, a colossal appetite for gossip and imaginary succession scenarios has been revealed (mostly on Instagram). Who will take the top jobs at Dries Van Noten and Chanel? There’s only one designer so far rumoured to be on the short list for the former, but there are at least eight designers who everyone is sure will be getting the top job at the latter. Now the speculation has broken a dam, with new rumours of established designers at big houses leaving to launch their own labels or going to other big houses already happily partnered with their creative directors—which, of course, only creates a new vacuum for people to further push their speculation. It’s an Oprah-style free-for-all: You get a new creative-director job! You get a new creative-director job! And you get a new creative-director job!

Related: Why are there still so few eco-minded creative directors?

It doesn’t take a fortune teller to figure out that everyone is really after new ideas about how to dress in the 2020s. We are craving transformation and (r)evolution. That the speculation and fantasy football-ing of fashion involves only the people we’re already familiar with shows just how desperately we need to be jolted by the electricity of the unexpected. After all, the most exciting clothes so far this year have come from designers who had worked behind the scenes for decades before finally finding their place in the sun.

At Chloé, Kamali is one of the few designers in recent memory who’s been able to change the course of popular trends after only one collection. Her debut at the French label ushered in the return of boho chic and a softer femininity influenced by the 1970s. Even Bally, the sleepy Swiss luxury brand, has quickly become an IYKYK fashion favourite thanks to Simone Bellotti, who has established a polished and modern aesthetic with just the right kind of off-kilter sensibility in only three seasons. He’d spent the last 16 years at Gucci, overseeing menswear and special projects. For my part, I’m on the lookout for aesthetic danger and radical ideas in the quieter corners of the fashion world. Another world is possible –if you want it.