Haider Ackermann's 5 best fashion moments Here are the career highlights of one of the industry's most beloved designers
It is difficult to pigeonhole Haider Ackermann into a precise category of designer. First of all because in the course of a career lasting 26 years, started in '98 with an internship at John Galliano before founding his own eponymous brand in 2003, the Colombian designer has zigzagged numerous times between the world of indie fashion and that of institutional fashion, often flirting with the latter but above all earning the deep respect of the entire industry. While other creatives have spent their careers directing historic brands, working sometimes for the Arnaults and sometimes for the Pinaults, even becoming celebrities in some cases, Ackermann has always remained for the few, while being loved by everyone. After the founding of the brand that bears his name, Ackermann gained much fame in fashion circles, remaining always independent and focused on his own project, and reaching the first turning point of his career in 2010 when the seeds were sown for what his career would become 14 years later. His upcoming entry at Tom Ford, which will see him present a debut collection for the brand in March 2025, has been hailed as a match made in Heaven by the entire industry, one of the most fitting and anticipated pairings between designer and brand in recent years.
And precisely on the occasion of this appointment, here is a quick recap of the five most emblematic moments of Haider Ackermann's career.
1. Lagerfeld's compliments
Ackermann has always defined himself as a womenswear designer. For this reason, his Florentine show A Carte Blanche Named Opium, presented at Pitti Immagine Uomo in June 2010, Ackermann stepped out of his comfort zone and presented his first menswear collection – a surprise considering that the designer had been invited as a representative of womenswear. The collection was relatively small but was over time compared to the works of Romeo Gigli and Yves Saint Laurent, immediately found buyers (those from American Barneys in the lead), and not only signaled that Ackermann had become a well-rounded designer, no longer a hidden gem in Paris' programming, but also planted the seed for what would become his men's line three years later, triggering a chain of events that would bring him Kanye West's endorsement, the appointment at Berluti, and, today, the creative direction of Tom Ford.
3. The Mercedes-Benz campaign with Tilda Swinton
After abandoning his investors and becoming completely independent, Ackermann was at the peak of his cult designer fame. Kanye West's endorsement (who showed up at Dries Van Noten’s SS15 show in a velvet sweater, ripped jeans, and Bottega Veneta boots) not only brought him exceptional clients like A$AP Rocky, Usher, Luka Sabbat, and Miguel Pimentel but also a successful business. In July 2014, to promote its efforts through various fashion weeks around the world, Mercedes-Benz commissioned director Andre Chemetoff to make a short film featuring Tilda Swinton driving through the Scottish moorland wrapped in a deconstructed taupe-colored coat and an ensemble entirely designed by Ackermann. It is the definitive culmination of a friendship and creative partnership started back in 2003 and continuing until now on red carpets around the world.
4. The debut at Berluti
Gen Z has heard about Haider Ackermann thanks to Timothée Chalamet. The first look was at the 2018 Oscars, a white tuxedo, which did not hint at what would come years later. There was the pearl grey suit with double belt and a coordinated blouse seen at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, then the silver suit worn at Cannes in 2021, and finally, the ultimate bomb: the red halter top that leaves the back exposed seen again in Venice in 2022. Just three of the most iconic moments of a collaboration or artistic partnership that continues to this day, with Chalamet having become the unofficial ambassador of Ackermann's brand and who, we assume, we will soon see covered in Tom Ford from head to toe.
