The Rise of the One Season Wonder?

Walter Chiapponi

Fashion has always been about fairytales. Lately, the story being drawn upon appears to be ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’. Over the past 5 years, we’ve seen a slew of three, two and even one season Creative Directors stepping down one after the other. From Yuni Ahn’s three season stint at Maison Kitsuné, to most recently, Walter Chiapponi stepping down from his role at Blumarine after just one; a blink may be enough to miss a beat when it comes to figuring out who’s where. It’s interesting to think about whether this represents a new norm in the fashion industry…

Yuni Ahn. Image courtesy Maison Kitsuné

The interconnectedness between dynamism and legacy in fashion, especially when it comes to heritage brands, has become a theme we’re all pretty much comfortable with. But whether this comfort can, and will extend to the idea of the recent revolving door of Creative Directors in a number of houses is a dubious talking point.  

The official role of a Creative Director in fashion is to ‘establish what designs should be created, what will appeal to the target market, and how the concepts will be applied and distributed in collaboration with fashion designers who are responsible for creating the clothing and fabrics’. When looking at things from a more human perspective, it becomes apparent that they essentially carry the fashion house on their shoulders for however long their tenure may be. 

For a large portion of fashion houses, a lot rides on a sort of symbiosis between the Creative Director and their audience… a symbiosis that can only be built over time. The sort of loyalty that enables thousands to be able to instantly identify a Gucci piece designed by Tom Ford within the decade succeeding 1994 doesn’t just happen overnight. 

Tom Ford for Gucci. Image Courtesy Resurrection Vintage

Or does it? 

As humans arguably living in the stereotypical idea of  ‘the future’, Instant gratification is a given. We have the option of accessing pretty much anything and anyone we wish to, from all angles. Whether that be through social media, fast fashion, or web 3.0, the point is, we’re burdened with choice. So much so, that perhaps the sanctity of the role of ‘Creative Director’ has been watered down. Attitudes are constantly changing and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that perhaps the nature of mankind has been altered far too much to ever align with the idea of settling down for at least 5 years, let alone a decade at one fashion house. 

But what does this mean for the industry? 

We could just be witnessing the fashion industry going through a typical case of growing pains, all good things must come to end, right? And whilst the latest golden era of fashion may be behind us, the constant switch ups we’re witnessing may just be the industry's way of naturally finding its next generation of Creatives that will usher us into the next era of prosperity. Even fashion isn’t immune to the benefits of trial and error.

Whether this is a shift that will be beneficial to the fashion industry or not, time will tell. However, we can certainly say that the rise of the one season wonder mirrors the society it exists, and to an extent, thrives in.