Designer Shakeups Have Become the Norm At Luxury Brands, But Are Big Changes Always Sustainable Longterm?

In the age of social media, building brand loyalty can be incredibly tricky...

Upheavals at luxury brands have become the norm lately with designers leaving their posts at one designer brand only to pop up shortly at another. Take Clare Waight Keller whose departure from the fashion world was short-lived when she departed Chloé and took over the reigns at Givenchy from Riccardo Tisci who had departed the brand for Burberry.

And while no other exit was as mourned as Phoebe Philo’s from Celine, on the flip side, it’s arguable that none was as celebrated as Daniel Lee’s appointment at Bottega Veneta. Lee, whose prior experience included stints at Celine, and Balenciaga, took over for longtime designer Tomas Maier as parent company Kering aimed to modernize.

It’s impossible to ignore that Lee’s tenure at Bottega Veneta has helped the brand climb to the top of Millennial and Gen Z minds, which is exactly what the brand hoped for when they hired Lee.

When a new designer takes over at a brand it often takes a few seasons for them to come into their own and for fans to really see the difference. In a perfect world, a designer will make a seamless transition, marrying their own aesthetic to the brand’s timeless DNA. Natacha Ramsay-Levi is a good example of this ideal, as when she joined Chloé, she put her own vision into the brand while staying true to its rich history.

While slow, steady changes do work for some brands, so do substantially rapid changes for others. Take Riccardo Tisci at Burberry, who came in and completely revamped the brand, allowing store revenues to increase almost immediately when his collections hit stores. Then of course, there’s Daniel Lee, who changed Bottega Veneta’s aesthetic seemingly overnight, resulting in an almost immediate financial gain.

While monetary success is easy to measure and impossible to ignore, what about the immeasurable, but important factors that contribute to a brand’s success? Take brand loyalty, which can take years to build, but is something all brand’s strive for. In the longterm, loyal and repeat consumers are the meat of a brand’s financial success. However, it’s arguable that constant, big changes are making it hard for brands to build this elusive consumer base.

It’s hard to say what will happen to brands like Burberry and Bottega Veneta who have made massive changes to their brand image. While millennials and Gen Z have a massive spending power that will only continue to increase, they’re also part of the social media boom, which in my opinion makes it much harder for brands to build their loyalty. New consumers are constantly looking for the next best thing, making existing, brand loyal customers important to keep.

So what happens when those who fell for a brand’s suddenly new aesthetic move on to the next best thing? Yes fashion is changing, but in the age of instagram, designers looking to make changes and tap into a more modern aesthetic should be mindful of alienating existing, longtime customers.

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Divadeluxnyc

You’ve highlighted the few designers who have moved to a new label and made a positive difference in aesthetic and bottom line, but jeez, most seem to flounder and are out within 2 years. It’s hard to buy into a vision if the vision changes every couple of years

Canuck65

Who says that millennials and Gen Z have massive spending power that will only continue to increase? I think it is the older consumer who has the real purchasing power but to be “relevant” brands so often market themselves to a younger consumer, who I think have less purchasing power and as you’ve pointed out may flit from one trend to the other. I personally no longer care for Gucci, Bottega Venetia. The list goes on.

Lola

The great thing about Bottega Veneta is that their intercciato is timeless so i think a classic design in that intercciato is always going to be hot for any customer. The seasonal fashion items? Not so much…

That’s maybe the reason why brands like Chanel, Vuitton and Hermes are on top. The creative direction might change but some things remains timeless: the hardware, the logos, the monogram, the shapes…etc.

I loved a lot Stefano Pilati bags for YSL. I wasn’t such a fan of what Hedi did because he killed the identity of the brand to create interpretations of Chanel bags or Hermes bags. The same for Balenciaga. Nicolas Ghesquiere created an aesthetic for his bags. It was cohesive and chic without having logos.
I love what Michele did for Gucci but i prefer the bags Frida did in her last few seasons.

Luxury for me is more than just prices and craftmanship. A sense of timelessness is also needed. That’s why Vintage Chanel or Hermes cost as much or more than current styles. A black Chanel bag from 1987 looks good in 2019.

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