MERRY GO ROUND

It’s that time again when fashion’s creative directors play musical chairs

THE LAST TIME THERE was this much upheaval in the fashion world was at the turn of

2015 and 2016, when the creative directors at many of the major fashion houses left their positions, either to take a sabbatical or move to another brand.

And the last creative director shuffle before that? It was approximately three years ago in 2012 and 2013. And so the term “three-year creative director”, which started out as a joke, has become the new normal. It is now rare to find creative directors who would stick with a brand for years on end, like Véronique Nichanian, the menswear designer for Hermès, and Silvia Venturini Fendi at the family’s fashion brand. We review the latest musical chair positions and what it might mean for the different brands.

Virgil Abloh, Louis Vui on

The brand first shocked the world with its collaboration with Supreme. Then, it decided to go one step further by controversially appointing Virgil Abloh as artistic director for its menswear department, replacing outgoing head Kim Jones.

Abloh’s first show will be at Paris Fashion Week this June. If his previous creations at Off-White and Nike are anything to go by, we can expect lots of streetwear, quotation marks, liberal usage of marker pens and paints, and ruthless deconstruction of pieces from previous collections. Or perhaps Abloh will surprise us with something entirely new.

Kim Jones, Dior Homme

Jones is expected to take his version of luxe streetwear to Dior Homme, a stark