Innovation or overload: Is fashion’s new path inspiring or alienating?
The latest shuffle of creative directors—most notably, the appointment of Demna at Gucci—lays bare the fragility of identity in fashion’s relentless game of musical chairs. Just as we begin to acclimatise to one creative vision at the helm of a heritage brand, the winds change once again. But let’s be honest: is this truly innovation, or is it simply overload?
Put another way, is fashion’s frenetic, feverish delirium with designer reshuffles inspiring—or is it alienating its audience?
Recall what we wrote about Milan Fashion Week and, later, Paris Fashion Week. We celebrated the return to brand identity, the renewed focus on timelessness and heritage. We dared to hope for stability. And yet, less than a week later, identity seems to have been tossed out the window.
The Identity Collapse: Demna at Gucci
Just as we were beginning to appreciate a more identitarian Gucci—hoping for a true luxury revival—Kering announced the appointment of Demna Gvasalia as the brand’s new creative director. It’s as if Kering learned nothing from the chaos left in Alessandro Michele’s take—or the polarising fallout of Demna’s own tenure at Balenciaga. Was that really the vision Balenciaga needed? Transforming a maison synonymous with elegance and refinement into a dystopian, post-apocalyptic, East-European flea market aesthetic? To sell what—logoed baseball caps? Now, will the same happen to Gucci? A brand on the verge of death seems to receive its final blow.
The market’s reaction was swift: following the announcement, Kering’s shares plummeted by over 12%. Meanwhile, an Instagram poll by The Business of Fashion revealed that 64% of respondents believe Demna is the wrong choice for Gucci.
Final thoughts
In the end, just as we began to appreciate fashion’s renewed focus on identity, it took mere days for the industry to unravel it all. Identity crumbles under the weight of sensational headlines and the incessant reshuffling of creative directors—a cycle that, in the long run, is exhausting. Demna’s appointment at Gucci is just one example. In the coming days, we’re likely to see more luxury brands playing this same game of musical chairs. Jonathan Anderson, for instance, has just left Loewe—but headed where? For conglomerates, consistency seems to be the least of their concerns. This cycle of constant change has become the new normal in the fashion industry—a chronic disease affecting all luxury brands in pursuit of profit and overgrowth.
This is a game that leads to a devastating collapse of identity. What feels like innovation is, in reality, overload. What should inspire instead alienates. And as the industry spins faster and faster, one can’t help but wonder: who, exactly, is this for?