At the onset of the year, and following the fall 2023 season that wrapped earlier this month in Paris, some of those changes had begun to take shape. Gucci and its parent company, Kering, named former Valentino fashion directoras Michele’s successor, Balenciaga, also owned by Kering, presented a refined collection, and LVMH tappedannounced that he was leaving Moschino after 10 years as creative director.
Notably missing from the New York calendar this past season was Tom Ford, though news of the Estée Lauder acquisition still reverberated. “I wasn't surprised by the sale because that had been a conversation in the industry for a while, that he'd possibly be looking to sell,” saysCFDA president. Under the terms of the deal, Ermenegildo Zegna and Marcolin will oversee fashion and eyewear, respectively, with Estée Lauder continuing to manage Tom Ford Beauty.
The appointments of De Sarno at Gucci and Williams at Louis Vuitton placed two vastly different candidates in the job. Even some of those tapped into the industry found themselves Googling De Sarno when he was named creative director. Williams, on the other hand, has been a highly visible creative talent in music and fashion for more than two decades.
While Mai studied fashion design at both Parsons and Institut Français de la Mode—and has worked in-house at Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Prabal Gurung and Maison Margiela—he doesn’t believe the success of a creative director totally hinges on the person’s education and training. “But it certainly gives one a different perspective to view fashion, clothes making, and the creative process,” he says, “and I think that trained eye and perspective should be valued more in our industry.