Exploring creative freedom, brand heritage, and balance when a new creative director takes over.Â
Fashion has always been about more than just the clothes. Behind every runway show, collection, and campaign is a carefully curated identity that brands have spent decades building. Chanel has its signature tweed sets, and Gucci has its monogram that is known worldwide, but those brands have now become attached to a particular aesthetic. But what happens when the person responsible for creating that aesthetic changes?Â
Over the past few years, the luxury fashion industry has seen its fair share of changes. According to the State of Fashion report 2026 by McKinsey and the Business of Fashion, nine of the 15 largest luxury brands appointed new creative directors in the 12 months leading up to September 2025. So whilst these changes can generate excitement, it does make me wonder just how much of a creative vision these new directors can have when they take over.
A Legacy Bigger Than The Designer Â
Very few industries place as much importance on the idea of heritage as the luxury fashion world does. Names like Chanel, Dior, and Gucci carry an identity that goes far beyond the person designing their collections now.
Gabrielle Chanel founded her French fashion house in 1910 and built a reputation around simplicity and elegance. At the time, restrictive silhouettes still dominated women’s fashion, so this was something new, and more than a century later, those foundations are still true to the brand.
But maintaining a legacy doesn’t mean leaving things unchanged.Â
In 2024 Matthieu Blazy took over as Chanel’s Artistic Director of Fashion Activities; he had previously worked for Bottega Veneta and became known for his iconic accessories and his high-craft luxury designs. So when he moved to Chanel he brought a new creative perspective to a brand that already had an established visual identity.Â
When Chanel leadership was asked about Blazy taking over the house, they shared that the director should find a new way to interpret what the brand already has by having conversations with the studios and ateliers instead of completely reinventing the brand.Â
But this does make me wonder if creative directors are appointed at the luxury fashion houses to change it or to find a new way to tell a story that already exists.Â
The Designer Behind The Name
Chanel is a representation of preserving heritage, whereas Gucci is a brand in which an individual’s design ideas influence the direction of the brand.Â
In 2025, Gucci appointed Demna as the new Artistic Director; this came after he spent a decade with Balenciaga. Demna is known for his unconventional approach to luxury fashion, so he came to Gucci with an already established creative brand of his own.Â
Gucci has to find that balance between designer and brand, and find a way to incorporate Demna’s style into Gucci’s aesthetic that keeps their brand different from everyone else. There has to be this balance so that consumers are still able to recognize the brand that they fell in love with. And in my opinion, Demna was able to get his designs and creativity across whilst still maintaining the Gucci brand.Â
Creativity Versus CommerceÂ
Now, creativity alone is not what keeps the fashion industry going. Behind the glamour of fashion week and the excitement around a new collection, global business and commercial expectations are at the forefront. Brand loyalty and generating revenue are crucial in protecting a brand, no matter how long it’s been around.Â
This means that creative directors have to balance two very different responsibilities: producing collections that reflect themselves and the brand, but also making sure that those collections work with the wider brand.Â
An article by Vogue Business, published in January 2026, looked into how the role of a creative director is changing beyond just making collections for a brand; they are now expected to understand marketing, merchandising, celebrity relationships, and the overall customer experience.Â
With decisions surrounding budget, marketing, and the customer, the idea that a designer may have for a collection may not even be possible anymore.Â
So who really owns the vision?
Perhaps the most interesting part of this whole discussion is the relationship between the people behind the brand and the consumer. When someone purchases a Chanel bag, they are buying into its history, the creative vision of the designer, and the status associated with the brand name itself. Although in some cases it may only be one out of three, for most it’s all three.Â
The designer may create the collection but the fashion house has the platform and the heritage for them to work from that gives their designs extra meaning. But without new directors coming in with fresh creative ideas, even the most high-end luxury brands could disconnect from their consumers.Â
Ultimately, the success of a creative director can not be measured by how much of their own identity they can add to a brand, but by how much of a fresh new perspective they can give to these brands with an iconic look already. After all, fashion houses will continue to change the names behind their brands but their legacies will always remain, but will people be up to the task of keeping it in tact.
SOURCES
https://www.vogue.com/article/how-the-role-of-creative-director-will-evolve-in-the-next-10-years