The role of the creative director

On 14th Feb Louis Vuitton appointed Pharrell Williams as their new Creative Director. Although there is some skepticism around this appointment there is a general positive feeling towards this latest move for the luxury fashion brand. This perhaps speaks to a wider shift within the industry and particularly the role of the Creative Director. (This applies mostly to the huge brands which dominate the luxury fashion industry and generate millions of pounds of revenue).

In the article 'Paul Meechan, told Drapers he thought Louis Vuitton’s choice was a “snub to properly qualified menswear designers – of whom there are many – where many are truly exceptional”.' (2023, cited in Burke 2023) This is a valid point in the sense that each year across the world creatives who choose to study fashion with the dream of reaching the role of CD spend years learning the technical skills and developing the (often unpaid) experience required to enter the industry whereas Williams who doesn't necessarily have this experience or technical skill doesn't need it due to his celebrity status. While I agree with this to an extent, there is no denying that he is a creative and his music career proves this.

Also in the article:

'Professor Andrew Groves...agreed, writing on LinkedIn: “It seems slightly odd that LVMH [luxury products group that owns Louis Vuitton] runs an annual competition to find the very best design talent in the world, such as Martine Rose, Samuel Ross and Grace Wales Bonner and then decides that it is in fact celebrity status that they value above all else.”'

(2023, cited in Burke 2023)

In a separate article on BoF titled "Why Fashion Should Recruit From Outside the Industry" Butler-Young highlights that there are certain areas that recruiting an industry outsider makes the most sense and these include "marketing, supply chain and technology". I would argue that these areas make the most sense as the skills those role use can be applied to a fashion brand rather than requiring technical fashion skills to carry them out. The article also highlights that those "in product and creative roles fare best if they have a more traditional fashion resume" (Butler-Young, 2023). Again this relates more to the hard skills required to carry them out, ones that have been learned and honed over years of experience or education.

“If you’re looking at a product role or a CEO who needs to work with a creative director, then it becomes more difficult [to make it work] with an outsider,” (Butler-Young, 2023)

Creativity is arguably one of the soft skills that can't be taught and although Williams is somewhat more of an 'outsider' to fashion than other candidates, he is absolutely a creative practitioner. He also has previous experience designing for and collaborating with apparel brands including Moncler Adidas, and Chanel. Maybe he will bring something new and exciting to the brand.

This appointment also raises some interesting questions about celebrity culture seeming to merge with the industry. In an Instagram post @1granary raised the point that "once your revenue enters the billions, cultural relevance or artistic statements are no longer a purpose- they're a means to an end" (@1granary, 2023) This is implying that to a brand like LV the design and the garments are not necessarily the brand's focus or identity any more. These factors may have contributed to the company achieving its current reputation and status but are not essential for it to continue. When this is considered, a hire like this seems less controversial. Williams will be supported by a huge team of highly skilled fashion practitioners in terms of making his creative vision a reality.

“This is a big step for one of the oldest and the biggest luxury fashion houses. It's a sign of a movement into culture and experience rather than solely focusing on great clothing.”

(McDowell, 2023, cited in Burke 2023)

The post also references Rihanna's Superbowl performace where she used one of her own Fenty beauty products during the performance, gaining her "$5.6 million in *Media Impact Value in the first 12 hours for Fenty Beauty, and $2.6 million in *MIV in the first 12 hours for Savage x Fenty" (Fraser, 2023). This exemplifies the power that Williams could have as a creative director with pre existing celebrity status.

Instagram post by @1granary 16/02/23

But what is the role of the Creative director going forward. Is it more about publicity, image and big ideas? Will it be a role that any aspiring young fashion graduate can take on? Or is head designer a more suited role that directly is involved with the designing and making of the clothing, problem solving to achieve the broader vision set out by the CD. And ultimately where does this apply, is it only in those luxury fashion groups, I imagine the CD of a smaller brand might still require the technical fashion skills and know-how.

This links back to my posts about a technical designer as well as contrasting to the role of Pip Jenkins, Creative Director of a very different, smaller heritage brand.

*MIV is a Launchmetrics proprietary metric that assigns monetary value to marketing strategies across print, online and social media in order to calculate ROI.

Articles: Burke. J, (2023) Pharrell Williams is an 'incredible hire' for Louis Vuitton [online]. Drapers online. Avaliable at: https://www.drapersonline.com/insight/pharrell-williams-an-incredible-hire-for-louis-vuitton?tkn=1 [accessed 16th February 2023]

Fraser. K, (2023) Rihanna’s Mid-performance Makeup Touch-up During Halftime Show Earns Fenty Beauty $5M in Media Impact Value at Super Bowl [online]. Women's Wear Daily. Available at: https://wwd.com/pop-culture/celebrity-news/rihanna-fenty-beauty-super-bowl-halftime-show-makeup-1235521431/ [accessed 17th February 2023]

Butler-Young. S (2023) Why Fashion Should Recruit From Outside the Industry [online] Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/workplace-talent/why-fashion-should-recruit-from-outside-the-industry/ [accessed 17th February 2023]