Across Paris, London and Milan, creative directorships at the world’s top luxury fashion brands have changed hands at a dizzying pace, reshaping house codes, runways, and retail bets for 2025–26. The stakes are as high as the logos: each appointment is a statement about how a brand intends to grow, what clientele it wants to court, and how it plans to translate heritage into desire right now.

 

Matthieu Blazy at CHANEL

After Virginie Viard’s exit in June 2024, Chanel spent months under intense speculation before tapping Matthieu Blazy to lead couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories. Blazy’s tenure at Bottega Veneta won raves for tactile rigor and craft-driven modernity; bringing that sensibility to Chanel signals a confidence play: fewer gimmicks, more construction, more clothes. His first runway bow at the house is slated for October 2025 (for spring/summer 2026), with the studio team covering collections until then.

 

Demna at GUCCI

In a move that electrified Milan, Kering named Demna Artistic Director of Gucci, effective July 2025. The appointment ends the De Sarno chapter and installs fashion’s master provocateur at Italy’s largest luxury house. What should you expect? Cultural voltage, sharp silhouettes, and a recalibrated sense of spectacle—plus the commercial task of reigniting a global juggernaut. Demna’s first collection will be presented February 2026 in Milan.

 

Pierpaolo Piccioli at BALENCIAGA

Demna’s leap created an equal and opposite opening: Pierpaolo Piccioli now helms Balenciaga, with his debut set for October 2025. Known for Valentino’s romantic precision and couture fluency, Piccioli at Balenciaga suggests a pivot from meme-able shock to sculptural emotion—still modern, but with a different kind of charge.

 

Louis Trotter at BOTTEGA VENETA

With Blazy off to Chanel, Louise Trotter slid into Bottega Veneta’s driver’s seat and promptly doubled down on the brand’s most bankable asset: craft. Her debut has emphasized materials intelligence, intrecciato codes, and a woman’s point of view on ease and polish, positioning Bottega as the quiet-power alternative to logo maximalism.

 

Alessandro Michele at VALENTINO

Rome, meanwhile, entered its maximalist era. Alessandro Michele took over Valentino in spring 2024; his first shows reframed the house’s Roman romance through eclecticism and hyper-decorative storytelling. Expect archives to collide joyfully with pop references, and a new conversation with younger shoppers.

 

Dario Vitale at VERSACE

The week’s buzziest debut belonged to Dario Vitale at Versace—the first non-family creative director and a former Miu Miu hand. His opening gambit? Sensual, archive-attuned, and unapologetically Italian, staged in an intimate palazzo setting and read by critics as a channeling of Gianni’s spirit rather than a facsimile of the past.

 

Simone Bellotti at JIL SANDER

After Lucie & Luke Meier bowed out following their Fall 2025 show on Feb 26, 2025, OTB named Simone Bellotti creative director on Mar 10, 2025. The former Bally creative head (and longtime Gucci alum) is steering the house’s minimalism into a crisper, craft-driven register; his first Jil Sander runway in Milan underscored that shift.

 

Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez at LOEWE

LVMH tapped Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (the Proenza Schouler duo) as co–creative directors, succeeding Jonathan Anderson after his 11-year run. They take the helm across women’s, men’s, leather goods, and accessories—an explicit vote for American pragmatism fused with artisanal Spanish craft. A teaser for their SS26 campaign began rolling out last week and their first collection will be presented in Paris Fashion Week in October.

 

Jonathan Anderson at DIOR

In June, Jonathan Anderson was named sole creative director of Dior—overseeing women’s, men’s, and haute couture in a rare all-encompassing mandate. It’s a historic consolidation (Dior hasn’t unified the roles like this in decades) and signals a crisp, ideas-first reset following his tenure revitalizing Loewe. First deliveries begin with menswear this season, followed by womenswear.

 

Michael Rider at CELINE

Celine announced Slimane’s exit on Oct 2, 2024 and, within hours, named American designer Michael Rider as artistic director, effective early 2025. A Celine alum from the Phoebe Philo era (RTW design director, 2008–2018) with a recent stint leading women’s at Polo Ralph Lauren, Rider framed his first co-ed show (SS26) as evolution, not erasure, keeping profitable Slimane codes while re-centering Parisian polish and pragmatic luxury.

 

Sarah Burton at GIVENCHY

One of fashion’s most closely watched returns: Sarah Burton resurfaced at Givenchy in 2024, with her first collection in March 2025 and campaigns rolling out last summer. Burton’s blend of structure and grace could give the Hubertian house the spine and femininity it’s lacked in recent cycles.

 

To be confirmed…. FENDI 

Another pillar entered transition: today, Silvia Venturini Fendi stepped down from creative direction to become honorary president; successor to be announced. For a house whose modern identity she helped define—Baguette to Peekaboo and beyond—the next appointment will be watched closely.