Fashion says goodbye to the star designer: inside

Jonathan Anderson’s appointments with Dior and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel seem to be the end of the star designer era: inside. Instead, characters come into focus that focus more on the product and less on the staging.

Both creative people are hardly present in the media and social networks. They have largely protected their private life and are strongly contrast to the well -known personalities who have previously dominated the fashion world.

Glenn Martens, who replaced the eccentric John Galliano at Maison Margiela, also appear in their footsteps, Michael Rider, successor to the influential Hedi Slimane at the head of Celine, and Pierpaolo Piccioli, who replaced the provocative Demna near Balenciaga.

“It’s a bit like the season that the good students rewarded: on the inside,” says Pierre Groppo, the editor -in -chief of fashion and lifestyle at Vanity Fair France, to AFP.

“We are far from Galliano or Karl Lagerfeld, who were recognizable and really stood over the brands as personalities,” analyzes Adrien Communier, head of the fashion department at GQ France.

The Golden Age of Star designers: Inside in the 1990s and 2000s, creative director produced: inside that became as famous as the houses they represented.

Now fashion returns to designers: inside that are in the service of the brand.

Brands must “offer real added value”

This change of strategy takes place in an environment that is economically less cheap for the luxury sector.

After several years of post-pandemic prosperity, the fashion industry is experiencing a weakening of demand, especially in Asia. In addition, there is the Protectionist offensive of the United States, which have just imposed new tariffs.

“The brands want to create more values. They have to legitimize their position by offering real added value again,” comments Alice Feillard, the shopping director for men’s fashion at Galeries Lafayette.

“This is exactly what the customer demands today,” she continues. Less spectacle and more style are desired: “It will be about the history of the brands, their technical expertise and the product itself”.

Discreet but experienced

In this context, the appointments by Jonathan Anderson and Matthieu Blazy, both 41 years old, appear as strategic decisions.

“Both share an approach that is based on culture, technology and intelligent production. Your artistic vision is long -term and not geared towards short -lived trends,” explains Sophie Abriat, an author specializing in fashion and luxury.

Although they are relatively unknown to the general public, their career speaks for themselves.

The northern end of Jonathan Anderson made a name for himself in the LVMH group before it was appointed head of the men’s, women’s and skin couture lines by Dior.

In the past eleven years he has made the Spanish brand Loewe one of the greatest success stories in the luxury group. His own brand, JW Anderson, has also found great recognition.

The Franko-Belgier Matthieu Blazy contributed to the new popularity boost from Bottega Veneta, a company of the Kering Group. He was creative director from 2021 to 2024 and gave the typical leather braid of the Italian brand a new boldness.

They are experienced personalities whose “goal is not so much the revolution, but a coherent, authentic and strong discourse that arrives in both the brand and the consumer: inside,” emphasizes Serge Carreira, professor at the Sciences Po in Paris and specialist for the luxury industry.

The brands will be the stars, not the designers: inside, emphasizes Alice Feillard. “This is very positive: we have to gain more creativity again,” she adds.

Although these creative people are less visible, they are “no less exposed,” says Sophie Abriat. “They not only expect strong creative visions, but also concrete financial results”.