Do Mass Brands Need Creative Directors?

On Tuesday, Uniqlo named Givenchy and Chloé veteran Clare Waight Keller creative director of its main line, expanding a partnership that started with her “Uniqlo: C” sub-brand last year.

The same day, Inditex’s flagship brand Zara revealed it would collaborate with Stefano Pilati on a new line, bringing designs from a well-regarded if under-the-radar design talent (known for his tenures at Saint Laurent and Zegna) to one of the world’s biggest fashion audiences.

The moves follow Gap Inc.’s decision to make Zac Posen creative director of its namesake brand as well as stablemates Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta. New York-based designer Brandon Maxwell, meanwhile, has served as the creative director of two private labels under Walmart since 2021.

Mass retailers like H&M have long made designer and luxury collaborations part of their strategies in a more limited capacity, with blockbuster one-off collections and even ongoing sub-brands. The latest nominations, however, have seen big companies known for a collective, corporate approach giving a broader mandate to designers from the rarefied world of runway couture.

What’s driving the new round of tie-ups?

For many designers, particularly ones whose wheelhouse is in product and client development, finding the right role in a luxury house can be tricky as the creative director evolves to be more about communication, culture and curation. Brands have also tightened their budgets amid slipping demand.

And where soaring costs for luxury ready-to-wear can limit the impact of designers’ creations, mass brands offer tremendous reach. “It’s really, for a designer, an incredible way to get your clothes on a lot of people,” Waight Keller told BoF. “That’s always something that’s a challenge in the luxury market, because you’re working at such a high price. It’s a smaller segment that you touch.”

Designers also seem more willing to go public regarding such partnerships. Alongside public tie-ups, a cadre of high-fashion stylists, designers and art directors regularly make pilgrimages to Inditex in A Coruña, Spain, to give insights on collections and campaigns — confidentially.

But as Gen-Z  and Millennial consumers spearhead a boom in high-low dressing — mixing luxury, fast-fashion and vintage more than ever before — the barriers between runway and the rest are breaking down. Designers may have less reason to fear that working with mass brands beyond a time-bound capsule will exclude them from future opportunities in luxury. The continued success of Christophe Lemaire and JW Anderson, who have juggled their namesake luxury lines with Uniqlo collaborations for years, suggests that mass-market associations aren’t so problematic.

For retailers at the scale of Gap or Uniqlo, the logic behind bringing on a creative director isn’t self-evident, as success is usually driven by collective efforts across retail, marketing and product teams — not by one creative advancing their aesthetic point-of-view.

In 2016, Gap Inc.’s former CEO Abe Peck did away with the role, calling creative directors “false messiahs.” Abercrombie & Fitch’s shares are up 150 percent year-on-year as a turnaround under CEO Fran Horowitz has transformed it from ailing mall brand to premium menswear (and Wall Street) darling, without a high profile creative talent. The company updated its strategy while keeping in place chief product officer Corey Robinson, who has been at the brand since 2006.

Still, bringing on a creative director can be a low-risk, potentially high-reward proposition. At big retailers, the costs of bringing on a creative director and their studio are drops in the bucket compared to the major investment they represent for smaller fashion houses.

When they get it right, creative directors drive buzz, traffic, fashion credibility and higher average selling prices by projecting an adjacency to luxury. Countless clients have left Uniqlo loaded down with T-shirts and socks from its core collection after coming in for the latest drop from Anderson or Lemaire. Why not get a marquee designer like Clare Waight Keller to weigh in on its main line, too?

There are also guard rails in place at mass retailers for when creative directors get it wrong, due to their more corporate, marketing-driven culture. Brioni’s failed punk reboot under Justin O’Shea in 2016 simply wouldn’t happen at Uniqlo or Old Navy. And who remembers the fraught tenure of Ye (formerly Kanye West) designing for the Gap? What was planned as a decade-long partnership burned out in two years — as recently as 2022 — but the brand was always bigger than one person (even a mega-star), and that has permitted it to rapidly sweep aside the ill-fated incident.

Customers and investors will soon find out whether the latest round of creative appointments are hitting the mark.

At Gap, Zac Posen has already garnered buzz dressing Da’Vine Joy Randolph for the Met Gala and Anne Hathaway in a white shirt dress for a Bulgari event (the shirt quickly sold out online). At New York Fashion Week on Friday, over 1,000 people marched the streets wearing an Old Navy T-shirt by Posen with the slogan “Fashion for Our Future” to encourage bystanders to register to vote in the upcoming US election.

But Posen’s mandate goes beyond generating buzzy moments: he’s also worked with marketing teams to help update the logo and colour codes for Gap and Old Navy.

The next two quarters will see whether the retailer’s updated creative makes an impact in the key back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.

THE NEWS IN BRIEF

FASHION, BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

The Nordstrom family offers to take the chain private for $3.8 billion. The family and a Mexican department store chain El Puerto de Liverpool have proposed a transaction that would be financed through a combination of equity and cash commitments. Following the proposed transaction, the company would be 50.1 percent owned by the family and 49.9 percent by Liverpool.

Tiffany to downsize China flagship as spending dives. The LVMH-owned jeweller, which opened a two-floor store in Shanghai’s Hong Kong Plaza, has decided to give up about half of its square footage. The brand will vacate the space later this month, the people said, and the landlord is already in talks with potential new tenants.

Walmart bets on collectible sneakers to grow marketplace service. The retailer is teaming up with sneaker marketplace StockX to offer a curated selection of pre-verified sneakers in a bid to enhance its online presence and compete with Amazon. Hundreds of items will be available on Walmart’s website next week, and StockX will fulfil and verify the products.

Asos cedes Topshop to Denmark’s Bestseller for $178 million. Asos is forming a joint venture with the family’s Heartland A/S, which will pay £135 million ($178 million) for a 75 percent stake in the two brands. The UK company acquired Topshop in 2021 from Philip Green’s insolvent retail business as part of a £295 million deal.

The Independents acquired Kitten Production. Kitten Production specialises in creating photography, video and other digital content for fashion brands, and has worked with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Jacquemus and Jil Sander. Under The Independents’ ownership, it will work to expand into new markets, including New York City and Tokyo.

US Safety Commissioners call for investigation into Shein and Temu. Commissioners Peter Feldman and Douglas Dziak are calling for an investigation into safety concerns related to “deadly baby and toddler products” sold on their platforms. They also want the agency to evaluate how the companies and other foreign-owned e-commerce platforms comply with its rules, handle relationships with third-party sellers and represent imported products.

THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY

E-commerce agency Front Row Group secures private equity investment. The company, which provides services including e-commerce management, digital marketing, content creation for beauty labels, announced a strategic investment from private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners. The investment will be used to develop Amazon capabilities, data analysis, content optimisation and new acquisitions.

PEOPLE

Tom Ford names Haider Ackermann creative director. The Colombian-born, Paris-based designer succeeds Peter Hawkings who exited the brand suddenly in July after just two seasons in the top job. His recent roles include collaborations with Jean-Paul Gaultier and Canada Goose, where he was named the outerwear maker’s first-ever creative director in May.

Uniqlo appoints Claire Waight Keller as creative director. After stints at the creative helm of LVMH’s Givenchy and Richemont’s Chloé, Waight Keller launched her first collection for Uniqlo last year, a sub-label called “Uniqlo: C.” The move sees Uniqlo giving further scope to its partnerships with marquee designers from the luxury space.

Burberry names new chief marketing officer and Americas president. Jonathan Kiman, a 12-year veteran of Gucci, will join the brand as chief marketing officer, succeeding Rod Manley. Laura Dubin-Wander is also set to join the company as President, Americas. Dubin-Wander previously held senior roles at Diesel and Margiela owner OTB, Tapestry’s Coach, and LVMH’s Christian Dior Couture and Givenchy brands.

Liam Gallagher to be the new face of fashion brand Stone Island. The singer has been sporting the brand’s ensembles throughout his career, and is the official face of the brand, starring in its Autumn/Winter 2024 campaign.

L Catterton-backed Beauty Industry Group appoints CEO. Robert Schaeffler, the former chief executive officer of hair care brand Vegamour will succeed Derrick Porter as chief executive of the Beauty Industry Group, effective Aug. 28. Porter will transition to the company’s board of directors after 18 years in his post.

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group hires Gabriela Ferreira to lead global push. Gabriela Ferreira, who served as general manager for Southeast Asia and Oceania at Loewe, will be in charge of Chow Tai Fook’s push further into Southeast Asia and other markets. She will focus on enhancing brand desirability and oversee the jeweller’s product mix and sales channels in the region and internationally.

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

Bustle and W Magazine owner BDG closes investment round. The cash injection will be used to help the media company enact its turnaround strategy to lure wealthier readers. Medici Capital Partners participated in the funding round, according to an Axios report.

Compiled by Yola Mzizi.