Why are female artistic directors still the exception in the luxury industry?
Why is it that in an industry that is run on women's needs, bodies and emotions, there are so few women in top positions?
After sitting through show after show during the Paris womenswear season, one question kept coming to mind—not so much about trends, silhouettes, or color palettes—but about power: Why, in an industry that is run by women’s needs, bodies, and emotions, are there so few women at the top? Sure, the collections looked beautiful and glamorous. But when we saw the delicate silks and sexy cutouts, we wondered how many women would actually want to wear these things every day? And how many women were actually listened to when these designs were created?
The fashion world is undergoing an unprecedented power shift. Most recently, Jonathan Anderson left Loewe, while Demna Gvasalia left Balenciaga. One is rumored to be Maria Grazia Chiuri’s successor at Dior, while another quickly “relocated” to a sister brand in the Kering empire. These movements, however fleeting, are the lifeblood of the luxury industry, as each new face in the creative director position carries with it the expectation of breathing life into a saturated market. However, amid this strategic game, there is an undeniable truth that women are once again being pushed aside in decision-making positions.
Paris and Milan – the two capitals of haute couture – remain closed to female creative directors, while London has seen a wave of women leading independent houses. The contrast is even more evident when looking at Donatella Versace – the keeper of the Versace empire for nearly three decades after Gianni’s death. She quietly stepped down after just one season, making way for Dario Vitale from Miu Miu. No ceremony, no retrospective, no thank you on the screen at the end of the show. Just a cold handover, as if Donatella’s thirty years of dedication had never existed. The silence prompted designer Charles Jeffrey to exclaim on Instagram: “The industry has barely had a female creative director, and a goddess has just left. Give her ten seconds. Take a moment to honor her.”
LVMH, Kering and OTB dominate the women's luxury market, but their design studios are still largely male-led, even though their collections are predominantly aimed at women. So who is best suited to design women's clothing? Clearly not female designers, at least in the case of OTB, where there are no women at the helm of brands like Diesel, Marni or Maison Margiela… LVMH has been a little more open with Maria Grazia Chiuri (who is leaving) and Sarah Burton at Givenchy. At Kering, only Louise Trotter is the only woman to head Bottega Veneta's creative department. But while women are taking on important roles behind the scenes, they are rarely in the limelight. Kering prides itself on its commitment to gender equality, with 55% women on its management team and one of the highest proportions of women on the CAC 40 list. But in reality, the top position, creative director, remains almost entirely male.
Is it because they all failed to deliver the sales numbers they hoped for? Not necessarily. During Viard’s tenure, CHANEL’s fashion division doubled. Dior’s revenue has quadrupled since Maria Grazia Chiuri took over in 2016. And according to a recent Vogue Business report on size inclusivity in women’s fashion, three of the five most diverse shows for Fall/Winter 2024 were directed by women: Sinéad O’Dwyer, Ester Manas, and Edeline Lee. Clearly, when women design for women, not only does understanding multiply, but so does sales. So what’s holding them back?
We must admit that the Western world has long been driven by a patriarchal business mindset. Beneath the soft, feminine exterior of fashion lies a fierce commercial machine largely controlled by men. This relationship can be traced back to the collapse of feudalism in Europe, giving way to the wave of industrialization. In her book Fashion: A Manifesto , author Anouchka Grose explains how fashion as a commercial industry began with former laborers—former servants—opening their own tailoring shops, threatening the aristocratic monopoly on taste. As industrialization blurred class lines, dress sense became more common. From then on, money, rather than birth, became the key to social mobility. In a world built by men and for men, it is no wonder that they are always chosen first, benefit the most, and consolidate power through financial, social, and cultural networks that are willing to honor them.
Today, these same men of humble origins are at the helm of the conglomerates that house your favorite fashion houses. Just look at François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering, which owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga; or Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, which owns some 75 brands across six different categories, from fashion to jewelry to cosmetics. Have they ever been held accountable for excluding women from positions of power? Are they really innocent?
While the East has creative directors like Rachel Lim at Love, Bonito, Patty Ang at Patton, and successful female entrepreneurs like Mona Patel in the high-end fashion industry, the only thing holding the luxury fashion industry back in the West is the inherent outdatedness of the male-dominated ideology. Of course, there are talented female creative directors who run their own brands, such as Mowalola, Marine Serre, Nensi Dojaka – and even Phoebe Philo, whose eponymous brand relies on independent funding from LVMH. But when women – who know what women want best – are not given enough financial backing and confidence, independent brands like these have a hard time going forward.
Photo: Getty Images
