There is movement at the very top of the fashion industry. Alber Elbaz is leaving Lanvin. Raf Simons is leaving Dior. And Alexander Wang is leaving Balenciaga.

So do these exits represent an invitation for new creative designers to come in and leave their own mark, or are they indicative of an industry that’s currently sceptical of creativity?

One would expect most leading fashion brands to pursue new creative ideas and innovations with gusto. After all, that’s essentially what fashion is, the creation and dissemination of new aesthetic ideas. 

Raf Simons, the outgoing creative director of Dior’s womenswear, mixed the traditional ideas with new modern ones to great success. By combining traditional concepts of femininity with the unapologetically modern, his designs broke from tradition and, in doing so, showed Dior to be a more progressive brand than many previously thought. 

Whilst Simon’s ideas were generally well received in fashion circles, some of the brand’s key stakeholders may have been less enthusiastic. Indeed, in a recent article for the Independent, Alexander Fury argues that the influence of these “moneymen” is stifling creative freedom, not just at Dior, but throughout the world of fashion.

On the one hand, it is disturbing to think that creative vision may be being supressed by financial concerns. On the other, brands are businesses, and some leftfield ideas may simply come with an untenable financial cost.

When it comes to Elbaz leaving Lavin, we may be witnessing a company genuinely seeking to stay relevant – in other words, pursuing creativity above security. There is no question that Elbaz was key to Lanvin’s revival over the past 14 years. However, some reports suggest that Elbaz’s leaving was the result of his not being able to keep up with the increasingly faced-paced nature of the industry. Perhaps the brand is simply looking for a creative director more in keeping with the times.

Wang’s leaving seems to be more a legitimately joint decision. Wang, of course, has his own namesake brand to focus on. It may be the case that managing both roles was too difficult and that, as an anonymous person close to the negotiations reported, since Wang is about to announce a minority investment in his own brand it’s simply time to move on. 

Balancing the industry’s need to constantly reinvent itself with individual brands’ needs to remain profitable is tricky. Lean too far toward supporting progressive ideas, and risk seeing profits fall. Lean too far toward financial security, and witness your brand stagnate.

Seeing who these brands will choose to fill the vacuums left at the top will give some indication of which way they see themselves as progressing. Companies and brands are built on the personalities that lead them, and the influence of those at the top can’t be underestimated.  For this reason, my own hope is that at least some of these roles will be filled with up-and-coming talent.

What do you think these exits say about the world of fashion? And what sort of people should the brands hire next?   

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