Creative directions we had forgotten Michael Kors at Céline? Alexander Wang at Balenciaga? The past hides unexpected collaborations between designers and brands
Game of musical chairs. That's one of the most used expressions to describe the changes and the appointments within the fashion industry, which has made it an almost daily practice. The fashion system loves to renew, revitalize, and sometimes destroy, careers and brands at an astonishing rate, because, you know, it's the novelty that attracts. If today the fame and success of many designers are closely linked to a fashion house and the aesthetic it evokes, most likely their past hides different, even surprising, creative directions. Let's dive into their LinkedIn profile then.
Michael Kors at Céline (1997-2004)
In fashion mythology, few eras are remembered and celebrated as much as Tom Ford's creative direction at Gucci. Few remember, however, that from 1999 to 2004 Tom Ford also designed the collections of Yves Saint Laurent, at that time still part of the Gucci group, now merged into Kering. Of the five years at the helm of the French fashion house, one of the most recounted aspects is the difficult relationship between Ford and Yves Saint Lauren himself, who on more than one occasion had expressed his disappointment with the direction taken by his (former) Maison. "In 13 minutes you managed to destroy 40 years of my work," Saint Laurent reportedly said. "I don't remember much of my time at YSL, but I think I designed some of my best collections there," Ford declared. Under the Texan designer's leadership, YSL became bolder, and more modern, while retaining its feminine, romantic soul. Ford fought the impositions of Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, who wanted to see the fashion house's iconic garments on the runway every season, such as Le Smoking, going in a different direction, which today appears very successful. After Tom Ford's farewell to the Gucci group in its entirety, Stefano Pilati, Ford's former assistant, who remained very faithful to the brand's visual codes, was appointed to head YSL, followed later by Hedi Slimane and Anthony Vaccarello.
