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Fashion is no longer a job for fashion designers

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The appointment of Jaden Smith at Louboutin signals a new priority: star power over technical expertise


It seems increasingly clear that fashion is no longer a job for fashion designers. The industry’s new hiring practices are the most glaring evidence. The appointment of Jaden Smith—actor, rapper, and nepo baby—as head of Louboutin’s men’s division is not an anomaly. It is a pattern. It follows the identical playbook that brought Pharrell Williams to Louis Vuitton. These moves are not about design expertise; they are a calculated response to a deeper crisis. But do we really need celebrity designers?

Chasing hype over heritage, the industry faces an existential crisis 


The luxury fashion industry has fundamentally changed. Once the domain of visionary designers and family-owned houses, it has been reshaped by the forces of modern capitalism: marketing, algorithms, the influence of the relentless pace of fast fashion, and the insatiable demand for growth. In this new paradigm, the designer’s role has been diminished, their craft made secondary to a new bottom line. The result is an implosion: a loss of soul, meaning, and the distinct DNA that once differentiated one brand from the other. Marketing killed fashion, and yet they keep going.

Modern capitalism has eroded the perception of luxury itself. As brands scaled into monumental “cathedrals” with vast retail networks and gigantic egos to match, they sacrificed their intrinsic value for a hollow exclusivity. And fake scarcity. This identity crisis, combined with global economic instability, has led to a widespread luxury downturn. As a result, the clothes no longer sell themselves.

So, what is the fix for easy profit? Star power. Celebrities are the hyped-up solution to a problem of their own making. They generate immediate buzz, attract legions of fans, and create viral moments. A short-term lifeline for brands struggling to remember their own identity. Or simply trying to pay their costs. 

The paradox of fashion education


However, this shift makes the existence of prestigious, exorbitantly expensive fashion schools a profound paradox. For instance, a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design at Istituto Marangoni in Milan costs approximately €21,550 to €25,900 annually for the 2026/2027 academic year, including an annual enrollment fee of €4,000 and an international fee of €25,900 for non-EU students. For European students, the tuition fee is around €21,550 annually.  

This shift creates a devastating paradox: Why would a student invest such money to master a craft that the industry no longer values? Why specialise in a field where the top jobs are offered not to the most skilled, but to the most famous?

The craft behind the hype: why shoe design isn’t for amateurs


Not to mention that, from a technical perspective, shoe design is far more complicated than clothing design. Shoes must combine aesthetics, ergonomics, and durability. It requires knowledge of lasts, leathers, soles, stitching, and construction methods—cemented, Blake, Goodyear welt, and more. Comfort, weight distribution, and movement are critical, so design overlaps with engineering and biomechanics. Production is also slower and more expensive to change.

Clothing design is broader and trend-driven, with complexity in variety and fit. Shoe design is narrower but technically more intricate, since every millimetre matters for comfort and wearability. Shoes demand precision, not popularity. But knowledge isn’t a problem, unless you’re nobody.

Final thoughts


In conclusion, the choice is a strategic one. Brands prioritise expansion and rapid growth over heritage and craftsmanship. They don’t need a designer; they need a headline. This explains why Louboutin chose Jaden Smith—for his vast reach, not his mastery of lasts and leathers.

Clearly, fashion is no longer a job for fashion designers. The pressing question is not if this is true, but what this soulless, celebrity-chasing pursuit means for the future of creativity itself.

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What Does it Mean to Be a Fashion Designer Today?

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Emerging brands & investors: between change and status quo


What does it mean to be a fashion designer today? Launching a brand in today’s fashion landscape is a complex and challenging endeavour. But most follow outdated rules, missing the crux of the matter.

Aspiring designers often invest heavily in their education, attending expensive fashion design schools. However, upon graduation, they face a harsh reality: many brands prefer to hire celebrities to design collections, capitalizing on their fame rather than nurturing new talent. Perhaps someone does the actual work while the celebrity of the moment enjoys the spotlight. But that’s what it is.

New brands & investors


So, young and brave creatives launch their namesake brand. That step demands immense hard work, effort, commitment, and consistency. But once they enter the market, these small, independent brands realize that the panorama is crowded. Very crowded. Most importantly, to survive in such a competitive world, they need financial backing.

That seems to be the foundation upon which AZ Factory launched the new AZ Academy: teaching how to attract investors in the fashion field.

So, is it all about that? If a brand finds an investor, does the journey become easy? Money undeniably helps. But it comes with its own set of challenges. When big companies invest in a brand, designers lose the creative freedom that inspired them to start their journey in the first place. Profit margins and commercial viability take precedence over creativity and individual liberty. For instance, consider the case of Martin Margiela.
After his brand was acquired by OTB Group, he found himself increasingly constrained by the demands of a fast-paced, novelty-obsessed, and hyper-communicated fashion industry. The pressure to constantly produce new collections and maintain commercial success stifled his creative vision, leading him to leave his own brand. 

Now, let’s be clear. You won’t hear us saying money isn’t fundamental when launching and sustaining a brand. But, in this specific context of deep change, we need more than that. Priorities have changed, and we cannot separate fashion from the current cultural context. Does it make sense for a well-funded brand to promote huge collections, pre-collections and showcasing hundreds of samples, encouraging overconsumption? Therefore, perpetrating the same old overproduction pattern in a world on the edge of ecological breakdown?

Indeed, we cannot understand brands, established or new, who cannot distance themselves from this dangerous thought.

Conclusion: what does it mean to be a fashion designer today?


Launching a brand today is not just about finding investors. It goes far beyond that. Being a designer in the modern world is about having a vision – envisioning the future. It involves asking oneself: What future do I see? Do I want to maintain the status quo, or do I want to wipe out everything and start something better?

Well, corporations are not interested in that. That’s why we wonder if it makes sense to search for that kind of investor. Or is it better to clench your teeth and stay small, independent and free to bring about change?

Business as usual doesn’t work. New rules, new systems, and new ways of interacting with the audience. That is what we need.

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On Creative Directors

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The impact of big egos on fashion: what to expect?


As the fashion industry evolves, reflecting on creative directors and their work seems crucial to understanding its direction. Indeed, the shift from the figure of designers to creative directors brings about some considerations. What should we expect in fashion? Creativity and skills or marketing and big egos?

The work of creative directors


From what we’ve seen so far, creative directors take over a Maison and shape it with their own aesthetic. How do they do it? They can access extensive archives and substantial funds. Corporations produce and flood the market with their products, promoting them across every single media. However, after too much exposure, people get tired. When love ends, sales plummet, and, as a consequence, the creative gets kicked out. Nobody wants to purchase products of the unfortunate brand anymore. Not even off-priced.
While that brand struggles to regain identity and credibility, the creative jumps to the next one, replicating the very same view under a different logo. In this game, brands lose their uniqueness and look all the same. Every reference is NOT a coincidence: Alessandro Michele represents the most striking case. His recent looks for Valentino seemed more like an advertisement for the new Gucci campaign. A hybrid Gvucci or Vucci, as you prefer. However, he is not alone. The havoc John Galliano made on Margiela is another example.

But why don’t these creative directors launch their namesake brands? They avoid it because out of that box, they lose their relevance. Their skills rely on immense archives and huge investments. They excel at styling and marketing, but the creativity of a fashion designer is a different matter. Their ego overpowers.

Conclusion


With perseverance and hard work, designers of the past created a distinctive style, developing a culture around it. The unique idea of fashion they believed in was idiosyncratic, and they worked with determination, committed to spreading that idea.

In fact, the role of the creative director is a marketing necessity for corporations to lure consumers. Unfortunately, the side effect is a flattened fashion industry, where the only focus is profit.

As we witness the rise of creative directors, we need to acknowledge that these figures fail to introduce innovative elements or enrich the discourse within the fashion industry. Instead, they perpetuate a dangerous cycle of overproduction, which they would never attempt to change because they are part of the system. Employees and accomplices.

This, we must take into account.

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The Role of the Designer

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Examining the changing face of fashion


Understanding the evolving dynamics of the role of the designer is crucial for navigating industry shifts. Often, we’ve been pondering a recurring question: Does it still make sense to keep an eye on luxury brands?

The so-called but no-more-so luxury brands. Or the once esteemed but now seemingly entangled in the pursuit of profit. Therefore, they change designers for short-term profit, to the point of sacrificing their legacy. It’s a reflection that delves into the core values of an industry now seemingly driven by financial gains rather than its intrinsic essence.

In one of our most recent posts, we wrote a thought we want to repurpose here. Indeed, a significant issue that requires additional investigation. In the ever-evolving landscape of fashion, where trends shift like sand dunes in the wind, algorithms emerge as a formidable force, reshaping the industry in unprecedented ways.

Fashion designers: from skills to loudness


But what are the consequences of algorithms?
One of the consequences of this transformation is the shifting role of the brand’s central figure: the designer. Alber Elbaz’s poignant observation sheds light on this evolution:

“We designers, we started as couturiers, with dreams, with intuition. Then we became ‘creative directors’, so have to create but mostly direct. And now we have to become image-makers… Loudness is the new cool, and not only in fashion, you know. I prefer whispering.”

Alber Elbaz

Indeed, in today’s digital age, the clamour for attention on social media platforms necessitates a cacophony of noise from brands. Loudness has become the modus operandi to cut through the clutter of images inundating our feeds. In other words, social media has corrupted fashion.

Of course, recent developments follow this logic. Specifically, Maison Valentino appointed Alessandro Michele as the new creative director. That underscores the industry’s relentless pursuit of attracting young, social media-savvy audiences. And to the expenses of decades of legacy, consistency and beauty. While these individuals may possess an innate understanding of visuals, the question arises: Can they perceive the depth of quality, skills, and ability essential for authentic creative direction beyond surface aesthetics?

As we move forward in the fashion industry, it is crucial to reflect on the shift in the role of the designer. And question whether profit has eclipsed the industry’s once-revered artistic and creative integrity.

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