It's Only A Game

As creative directors come and go like seasonal trends, is the quick turnover rate a sign for the industry to change for the better?

- KELLY KHUA

The revolving door for fashion's top jobs is spinning faster than ever. News of creative directors' tenures ending and replacements by celebrities or unknowns routinely break out. This year alone, the industry has witnessed an onslaught of successions and splits: Pharell Williams has filled Virgil Abloh's shoes at Louis Vuitton, Rhuigi Villaseñor and Bally have called off their two-season affair, and Walter Chiapponi has parted ways with Tod's.

And who could forget Ludovic de Saint Sernin's exit from Ann Demeulemeester just two months after presenting his debut collection? It was arguably a watershed moment that thrust the vexed question of a creative director's role back into the spotlight.

The leadership position is by no means an easy feat. There's the tall order of balancing art and commerce. There's the task to manage one's own label and shake the dust off another historic fashion house. There's the need to constantly deliver on sales and cultural resonance. Plus, the pressure to revive if not surpass the glories of fashion luminaries.