CHANGE OF GUARDS

Fashion heavyweights battle in for survival-of-the-fittest. The departures of Raf Simons and Alessandro Michele speak volumes.

- SANJEEVA SURESH

The fashion industry's continual evolution has led to the most precarious game of musical chairs the industry has seen in years. First it was curtain calls at Raf Simons as the eponymous label shuttered its doors after a successful span of 27 years. This was shortly followed by Alessandro Michele who ended his seven-year long reign as Gucci's creative director. So what's happening and why is it happening now? Is it the rippled after-effects of the pandemic, lethargic consumers or dipping sales that are displeasing the higher-ups at French global luxury group, Kering? If past precedent has taught us anything it is that the coming and going of creative directors are often dependent on one of two factors-mental health and money, the latter being the more emblematic reason. It's a sight we've seen before.

In 2015, the late Alber Elbaz left the helm of Lanvin a month after his Spring/ Summer '16 show and a week after Raf Simons left Christian Dior. Simons cited his reason for leaving at the time was reportedly due to the sheer amount and pace of work at Dior being "too much". Dior would go on to be taken care of by the very capable hands of Maria Grazia Chiuri, who then left her 17-year long run at Valentino (notice a pattern here?).

The closure of Raf Simons leaves behind a legacy of menswear that was imbued with individuality and innovation. Raf Simons pieces are very much in touch with reality, accessibility and what people want to wear. Conceptualised in 1995, his collections saw a celebration of youth culture with a keen eye on minimalist silhouettes, often using his own personal history and memories as forms of inspiration. Simons' Spring Summer '15 show saw visuals adorned onto shirts and the back of outerwear including old passport photos, an image of a shark fin as a reference to the movie Jaws and his love of horror films as well as a photo of a rollercoaster he rode in his childhood.