June 23, 2026

Change and Change Again

I am writing this to help us all stay up to date, something that in fashion can be exhausting. Who is working where, what PR company is working with which house, who sold what label, the news and information is endless but essential. To be uninformed or off the news grid is not just a recipe for disaster it means you’re not truly in fashion. A friend of mine once memorably said that spending too long in the supermarket and away from the business could result in people thinking you’d retired!

If we know anything about fashion we know it’s about change, but even so the last year has been massive in terms of the merry go round of swapping houses, new names moving into established brands and surprises. What is interesting is, although it’s calmed down at most of the biggest and grandest luxury names, it’s continuing.

The idea of gossip is very different to actual news, we may chatter and discuss, but the bottom line is the creative behind a brand, label or house, and what they bring to the fashion party. Facts matter but this must be balanced with trying to ascertain those facts before anyone else, hence the gossip, the networking, and of course, rumour. The right fit means news, clients, sales and money, plus bigger budgets. The timing is also very important and it’s interesting how some houses expect a collection very quickly upon appointment, and others are prepared to wait, and possibly build suspense. Indeed some announcements are swift and loud, some are more discrete and slipped into the between season quieter times.

From the end of 2024 through all of 2025 into 2026 this all happened or is in progress, and of course, by the time you read this, new appointments may have seized the headlines.

Words by Tony Glenville

Let’s start with the bigger moves, so, Demna left Balenciaga and joined Gucci in March and showed his first thoughts in September, Pier Paolo Piccioli left Valentino suddenly in March 2024, he was announced as the new creative director at Balenciaga in May 2025 and showed his first collection in October, whilst Jonathan Anderson entered Dior in April and showed menswear on the runway in June. Finally and meanwhile over at Chanel, Mathieu Blazy started in April but took his time to show his first collection in October in New York and for Arts et Metiers.

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez joined Loewe in April and first showed on the runway in October. Louise Trotter moved from Carven to Bottega Veneta in January and showed her first collection in September. News continued in both Milan and Paris with Lucie and Luke Meier leaving Jil Sander to be replaced by Simone Belloti, whilst Sarah Burton left Alexander McQueen late in 2022 and was announced in her new role at Givenchy in September 2024, after which her first catwalk showing was in March 2025. Meanwhile the moves just kept on happening with a kind of relentlessness that made each morning’s announcements never ending, filling social media in an avalanche of comments and opinions, views and discussions. Hedi Slimane went out of Celine and was replaced by Michael Rider who was announced in October 2024 and first showed on the runway in July 2025, other departures were Harris Reed from Nina Ricci and Guillaume Henry from Patou,. After his departure from Margiela, John Galliano is consulting in a creative role at Zara, no other moves yet and Glenn Martens has taken over Margiela Artisanal whilst Duran Lantik, since his appointment in January, is at Jean – Paul Gaultier both for Pret a Porter and couture.

I would also note that it’s weird how Riccardo Tisci and Stefano Pilati, two very experienced designers, have all but disappeared from the forefront of names proposed for senior roles.

As a further example of timings both in appointment and collections delivery we have this. In November 2022 Alessandro Michele exited from Gucci after twenty years, eight as creative director, in March 2024 his take over at Valentino in April was announced, by mid June he showed his first collection and in September progressed to runway showing summer 2025.

It should be noted that the rules on departure and new roles within the industry, both for Pier Paolo Piccioli and Alessandro Michele, were sharp and severe. It’s a business without sentimentality and when you’re in you’re in, and consequently when you’re out it’s a door slamming hard behind you as you exit.

Haider Ackerman became the name next to that of the founder at Tom Ford, announced at that house in September 2024, and first showing in March 2025, a big surprise was the departure of Olivier Rousteing at Balmain who was replaced after fourteen years by Antonin Tron.

Unemployed at a big house is Hedi Slimane, and Jacquemus is rumoured to have turned down several opportunities preferring to remain at his own house. Exciting news is that Olivier Theyskens is launching his newly-named label Boloria in Paris July 2026, London based house Standing Ground created by Irish designer Michael Stewart is also showing his beautiful work during couture week in July. Also making a couture week debut is Manish Malhotra the Indian couturier following on from his own and three others wearing his fabulous designs at the Met gala 2026.

We await with eager anticipation the debut at Hermès of British-Jamaican designer Grace Wales Bonner. She joined the house in January 2026 to oversee the menswear department and her debut collection will be shown in January 2027!

Whilst at Fendi Maria Grazia Chiuri returned to the brand where she started her career in 1989 and showed her first collection in February. Maria Grazia is fascinating in that she divides critics from professional to amateur in her refusal to create tricks or outlandish fashion, she is a woman who designs for her clients and her pragmatism on fashion as both creative and a business doesn’t always appeal to the social media voices who demand major drama and extravagance. Over at Marni Belgian designer Meryll Rogge succeeded Francesco Risso, debuting her vision during Milan Fashion Week 2026.

Marc Jacobs has been sold by LVMH after twenty years and he’s also relaunching. Marc Jacobs beauty. In terms of the beauty and fragrance business the huge news is that Kering have sold Kering Beauté to L’Oréal for $4.6 billion dollars! Meanwhile Puig fragrance and fashion conglomerate posted a 4.7% increase in sales in the first quarter of this year.

One of the latest announcements is Kai Nesselrath to Carven moving from womenswear at Saint Laurent to replace Mark Thomas who had just one year in the role of creative director. Still there’s no news at Patou about a newly-named director.

We’ve recently seen, during May and June, resort shows from Hermès in Bel Air, Chanel in Biarritz, Dior in Los Angeles, Max Mara outside Naples, and Louis Vuitton in Avignon, as well as a menswear show by Zegna on Malibu Pier, in fact I counted more than forty resort collections on Vogue runway, so the vow made during Covid to reduce shows and the number of pieces made has been forgotten. Indeed Demna at Gucci showed resort in Times Square New York with major celebrities both on and off the runway.

I think I’m up to date for all of us now, and exhausted having had to check all the facts and dates!

As we hit the menswear shows and couture, as the fashion weeks across the world wind down for the summer, we can look forward to a bit of a rest as fashion takes a break. Come September that merry go round will start whirling again, and we will see many of those newly appointed designers really getting into their stride. Each designer should be given a few seasons to show their hand, settle into a creative role where they are being watched by everyone from the teenage Tik Tok reviewer to Vanessa Friedman on the New York Times, from the men in suits looking at the sales figures, to the celebrity stylists checking if any of their clients should be wearing the designer’s clothes for events. An unenviable position where you’re trying to balance making beautiful clothes and a creative statement with selling a lot of product.

Note: Olivier Rosteing is now “reported” to being the new designer Paco Rabanne, and the rumours also say they’ll be restoring haute couture to the house. Watch this space. Whilst editing this piece, it was announced that Adrian Appiolaza is leaving Moschino and his replacements are Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo from the label Sunnei. It never stops.