Ranking Fashion’s Longest-serving Creative Directors in 2025

In 1998, Maison Christian Dior created a new jewelry department, appointing Victoire de Castellane as artistic director. Previously, de Castellane was head of Chanel’s costume jewelry designs for 14 years.

Ian Griffiths joined Max Mara in 1987, fresh out of the Royal College of Art, after winning the brand’s contest in 1985. In 2005, with the blessing of the company’s owners, the Maramotti family, Griffiths was appointed lead designer of the brand.

Nicolas Ghesquière was appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s women’s collections in 2013, after a 15-year tenure at Balenciaga. Last year, the French brand renewed the designer’s contract for another five years. Ghesquière succeeded Marc Jacobs, who stepped down from Vuitton after a storied 16-year tenure.

Paco Rabanne tapped Julien Dossena as creative director for womenswear in August 2013, following the exit after two seasons in the role of Lydia Maurer. Dossena from 2008 to 2012 was senior designer in the Balenciaga studio, working closely with former creative director Nicolas Ghesquière.

Stuart Vevers has been Coach’s creative director since 2013, succeeding executive creative director and president Reed Krakoff. Previously, Vevers served as creative director of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Loewe brand and also spent time working at Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein.

The French luxury house Hermès named Nadège Vanhée-Cybulski artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear in 2014, following the departure of Christophe Lemaire after four years. Vanhée-Cybulski worked at Maison Martin Margiela in Paris from 2005 to 2008, before joining Phoebe Philo at Celine as a senior designer until 2011 and later The Row as women’s design director until March 2014.

Anthony Vaccarello was named creative director of Saint Laurent in 2016, after the second departure of Hedi Slimane. Vaccarello worked for Fendi before launching his own couture line in 2008 that was closed in 2016. In 2011, he scooped the ANDAM fashion award and two years later Donatella Versace in 2013 tapped Vaccarello as a guest designer for her revamped Versus brand. Shortly after he was named creative director of the brand.

Alessandro Sartori was named artistic director of Zegna in 2016, after the exit of Stefano Pilati. Sartori joined Zegna in 1989 after graduating from design school in Milan and in 2003 was named creative director of Z Zegna, Ermenegildo Zegna’s more fashion-oriented brand that has been discontinued, a role he held for eight years. In 2011 he was appointed artistic director of the Paris-based brand Berluti, which he left after five years to return to Zegna.

Wes Gordon took over the creative direction of Carolina Herrera in 2018, after being named successor by the founder herself. After learning the ropes at Central Saint Martins, Gordon interned at Tom Ford and Oscar de la Renta before starting his own signature collection of womenswear in 2009, which was put on hold after he joined Herrera. 

Daniel Roseberry has been in charge of all collections, projects and image at Schiaparelli since 2019. He succeeded Bertrand Guyon, who held the post of design director for four years. In 2008, Roseberry joined Thom Browne, becoming design director of men’s and women’s collections. He was the third designer to take on Schiaparelli since Diego Della Valle relaunched the brand in 2013 by hiring Paris fashion personality Farida Khelfa as the spokeswoman for the house and tapping Christian Lacroix for a one-off collection.

Raf Simons has been co-creative director at Prada with Miuccia Prada since 2020. Simons became known for his signature menswear brand, launched in 1995 and shuttered in 2022 after 27 years. The designer went on to take the creative helm at Jil Sander from 2005 to 2012 before leaving Milan for Paris and becoming creative director of Christian Dior women’s collections. He decamped from there after three-and-a-half years for New York to join Calvin Klein, where he stayed just under two years.

Diesel named Glenn Martens its creative director, with oversight of style, communications and interior design, in 2020. The last marquee talent at the helm of the brand previously had been Nicola Formichetti, who exited in December 2017 after a four-year tenure as artistic director. Martens was tapped by Diesel in 2018 as a guest designer of the experimental capsule series Diesel Red Tag. Martens became the first assistant of Y/Project founder Yohan Serfaty in 2010 and took over the creative reins following the founder’s untimely death in 2013. He parted ways with the brand after a 11-year tenure in September 2024.

In 2020, Fausto Puglisi was appointed creative director at Roberto Cavalli. The brand parted ways with Paul Surridge in 2019 and after that all the design functions were taken over by the in-house design team. Previously, Puglisi had launched his namesake label in 2010.

Courrèges appointed Nicolas Di Felice as artistic director in 2020, succeeding Yolanda Zobel, who left the brand after two years. Di Felice was part of Nicolas Ghesquière’s team at Balenciaga in 2008 shortly after graduating from La Cambre, remaining at the brand for six years. After a brief stint at Dior under Raf Simons, he was reunited with Ghesquière at Vuitton in 2015.

Pucci named Camille Miceli artistic director in 2021 when the company revealed plans to return to its roots as a resort-focused brand. Before the appointment of Miceli, Pucci had experimented with a variety of designers over the years, including Julio Espada, Christian Lacroix, Matthew Williamson, Peter Dundas and MSGM’s Massimo Giorgetti and guest designers, including Christelle Kocher of France and Japan’s Tomo Koizumi. Miceli started her fashion career at age 15 when she interned at Chanel and Azzedine Alaïa. She spent seven years as a publicist at Chanel before joining Louis Vuitton as accessories creative director under Nicolas Ghesquière in 2014.

Maison Alaïa picked Pieter Mulier as creative director more than three years after the death of fashion legend Azzedine Alaïa. After studying design and architecture at the Institut Supérieur d’Architecture “Saint-Luc” de Bruxelles, Mulier started his career working at the Raf Simons men’s label in Antwerp, and expanded his design sphere into womenswear and accessories alongside Simons when the latter took the creative helm of Jil Sander. Prior to Alaïa, Mulier was best known for his work as Simons‘ right hand at Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein.

Ferragamo tapped Maximilian Davis as its creative director in 2022 after the exit of Paul Andrew the year before. Davis founded his brand Maximilian in 2020 after working as a junior designer at Grace Wales Bonner. He previously worked as a freelance designer for Mowalola, Asai and Supriya Lele.

Daniel Lee was named chief creative officer at Burberry in 2022, succeeding Riccardo Tisci. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Lee was previously director of ready-to-wear at Celine. This followed earlier stints at Maison Margiela, Balenciaga and Donna Karan. In 2018, he succeeded Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta, which he left abruptly after just over three years.

Nina Ricci selected Harris Reed as creative director in 2022, making him its youngest designer to take the creative helm. The brand was without an artistic director following the exit of Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh earlier the same year. After graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2020, Reed quickly gained a reputation for his decadent designs. Last month, Reed launched a new women’s scent, Vénus, for the brand.

Marco de Vincenzo joined Etro as creative director, in charge of the women’s, men’s and home collections, in 2022, taking over the role of founder Gimmo Etro’s children Veronica, Kean and Jacopo, who were previously creative directors of the women’s, men’s and home lines, respectively. De Vincenzo, a former winner of the Vogue Italia “Who Is on Next?” talent search, worked for years on accessories as a consultant for Fendi with Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi. 

Louis Vuitton named U.S. musician and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams creative director of its menswear division at the beginning of 2023. The position had been left unfilled since the death of Virgil Abloh in November 2021. Over the years Williams has founded several clothing brands, including Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream, the streetwear labels he launched with Japanese designer Nigo. He also scored a collaboration with Nike in 2004, which was followed by shoe designs for brands including Reebok and Timberland. In 2014, the artist entered a long-term partnership with Adidas and in 2017 he dropped a sneaker with Chanel.

In October 2023, Kering chose Seán McGirr for the role of creative director at Alexander McQueen. He succeeded Sarah Burton, who had been at the creative helm of the brand since the founder’s death in 2010. McGirr previously served as head of menswear at JW Anderson and before that worked at Dries Van Noten on the womenswear collection. His résumé also includes stints at Burberry and Christopher Lemaire for Uniqlo.

In December 2023, Tod’s confirmed Matteo Tamburini as the new creative director, in charge of both the women’s and men’s collections, following the departure of Walter Chiapponi. Previously, Tamburini had worked for Bottega Veneta since 2017 with former creative director Tomas Maier.

Pelagia Kolotouros was tapped as the latest creative director by Lacoste in February 2023, after the brand parted ways with Louise Trotter. Kolotouros cut her teeth at Theory and Calvin Klein, where she was design director of its men’s line until 2014. Recently she was in charge of developing the Adidas textile, footwear, women’s and men’s collections for collaborations such as Ivy Park and Pharrell Williams.

Chemena Kamali has been the creative director at Chloé since October 2023, succeeding Gabriela Hearst, who ended her three-year collaboration with the brand in June. Kamali already worked at Chloé under both Phoebe Philo and Clare Waight Keller earlier in her career until 2016, when she departed to become Saint Laurent’s women’s ready-to-wear design director under Anthony Vaccarello. The designer also has worked for Alberta Ferretti and Strenesse.

Rochas picked Alessandro Vigilante as its new designer at the end of 2023, although he had already been working for the brand since May, contributing to the spring 2024 collection. The Italian designer succeeded Charles de Vilmorin, who closed his uneven two-year tenure in April 2023. Vigilante has worked in the studios of such brands as The Attico, Dolce & Gabbana, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini and Gucci under Alessandro Michele.

At the beginning of 2024, Adrian Appiolaza was selected as creative director for Moschino after the premature death of previous creative director Davide Renne in November 2023 at age 46. Early in his career, he worked as a junior designer for Alexander McQueen and Miguel Adrover. In 2006, Appiolaza moved to Miu Miu and four years later he joined Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton as a senior designer. He returned to Chloé in 2012 as design director with Clare Waight Keller, leaving in 2014 for Loewe.

Gap Inc. appointed Zac Posen as its new creative director in February 2024. The American designer is tasked with reinvigorating the company’s entire portfolio. In this role, he is in charge of all the brands of the group: Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Old Navy.

Alessandro Michele was named creative director at Valentino in March. He succeeded Pierpaolo Piccioli, who exited the brand after 25 years a few days earlier. Michele held the same role at Gucci for seven years since 2015 but he had joined the Gucci design studio in 2002 following a stint as senior accessories designer at Fendi. He was appointed “associate” to Gucci’s then-creative director Frida Giannini in 2011, and in 2014 took on the additional responsibility of creative director of Richard Ginori, the porcelain brand acquired by Gucci in 2013.

Calvin Klein hired Veronica Leoni as the brand’s new creative director in May 2024. The designer, a 2023 LVMH Prize finalist and founder of Quira, has worked for such brands as Jil Sander, Celine, Moncler and most recently at The Row, where she was womenswear and menswear design director, in addition to Quira.

Lanvin named Peter Copping its new artistic director in June. Previous creative director Bruno Sialelli parted ways with the French house in April 2023. Copping has helmed Oscar de la Renta and Nina Ricci, and Balenciaga’s couture atelier.

David Koma was tapped as creative director at Blumarine in July 2024. Before Koma, the brand was designed by Walter Chiapponi, who left after only one collection. Koma launched his London-based fashion house in 2009, after completing his studies at Central Saint Martins College. In April, he launched a swimwear brand called Let’s Swim, a venture with new partners and one of his childhood friends.

Frances Howie assumed the role of creative director at Fforme in July 2024, succeeding Dutch creative director Paul Helbers, who parted ways with the brand. Howie was design director at Stella McCartney until she left in August 2021.

Haider Ackermann was named creative director of Tom Ford in September 2024 following the departure of Peter Hawkings after less than a year. Hawkings stepped into the role following founder Ford’s exit and the brand’s sale to The Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. During his career Ackermann has designed a couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier, was creative director of Berluti for three seasons between 2016 and 2018 and had his own brand. Also in May, the designer was appointed creative director of Canada Goose.

Sarah Burton was named the new creative director at Givenchy since September 2024. Burton succeeded Matthew M. Williams, who left the brand at the end of 2023 after three years. She became Givenchy’s eighth designer and its second female couturier, after having spent her entire fashion career at Alexander McQueen in London.

Michael Rider was named creative director at Celine in October 2024 following Hedi Slimane’s exit, which was announced the same day. Previously, Rider was creative director at Polo Ralph Lauren from 2018 and before that he worked at Celine from 2008 to 2018, led by then-creative director Phoebe Philo.

Missoni chose Alberto Caliri as creative director in October 2024 after parting ways with Filippo Grazioli, who joined the brand in 2022. Caliri first arrived at Missoni in 1998 and succeeded Angela Missoni as creative director ad interim in May 2021. A year later, he crossed over to the brand’s home collection and led a new phase for the division, which had been supervised by cofounder Rosita Missoni until her death on Jan. 2.

The Aeffe Group promoted Lorenzo Serafini to creative director of the Alberta Ferretti brand, following the exit of the namesake designer in September 2024. Serafini landed at the group in 2014, when Ferretti handed him the design reins of the Philosophy label, which was integrated into the Alberta Ferretti line from the fall 2025 season.

John Skelton was named EBIT’s new cultural and creative director in October 2024. Skelton’s appointment marked his return to the fashion industry after a seven-year hiatus, during which he was recovering from mental health and substance abuse issues.

Joseph named Mario Arena, formerly of JW Anderson, creative director in November 2024 and his first collection will be for spring 2026. Arena succeeds husband-and-wife duo Anna Lundbäck Dyhr and Frederik Dyhr, who had served as co-creative directors since 2020.

Georg Jensen tapped former John Lobb artistic director Paula Gerbase as creative director in November 2024. 

The Puig-owned fashion house Dries Van Noten appointed Julian Klausner to succeed the namesake founder in December 2024. For the previous six years, Klausner designed womenswear alongside the Belgian founder, who stepped down in June 2024 from his namesake brand. A 2016 graduate of the renowned Brussels visual arts and fashion school La Cambre, Klausner interned at Thom Browne, Kenzo and Maison Margiela before being hired in 2016 as a junior designer at the latter house, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Bottega Veneta selected Louise Trotter in December 2024 to succeed Matthieu Blazy at the creative helm of the brand and her first collection bowed in September. Trotter was previously creative director of Carven. Before, Trotter held the top role at Joseph from 2009 and 2018 and then at Lacoste for four years.

Chanel named Matthieu Blazy its new creative director in December 2024, after the departure of Virginie Viard after five years in June. Previously, the Bottega Veneta creative director since 2021 worked at Calvin Klein as part of the team Raf Simons brought to New York, working on the men’s and women’s collections as design director.

January

Glenn Martens was selected as the new creative director of Maison Margiela. The Belgian designer, also creative director of Diesel, succeeded John Galliano, who in December wound up a 10-year collaboration at Maison Margiela that delivered fashion thrills, cultural moments and business progression.

March

Jil Sander in March appointed Simone Bellotti creative director. Previously creative director at Bally, he succeeded Luke and Lucie Meier, whose exit was announced after their fall 2025 fashion show in Milan.

Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, founders of the New York label Proenza Schouler, were named the new creative directors at Loewe, effective April 7. They succeeded Jonathan Anderson after an acclaimed 11-year tenure that catapulted the Spanish house into fashion’s big leagues. In January they stepped down as creative directors of the brand they founded in 2002.

The Georgian creative Demna was named the new designer at Gucci. He ended his tenure at Balenciaga on July 9 after 10 years. His first collection for Gucci bowed in September flanked by the film “The Tiger,” starring Demi Moore. He succeeded Sabato De Sarno, who exited Gucci in early February after a two-year collaboration.

Mugler appointed Miguel Castro Freitas its new creative director, an alumnus of Sportmax, Dries Van Noten and Christian Dior Couture. Freitas succeeded Casey Cadwallader, whose swan song after an eventful seven-year tenure was an uncharacteristically low-key look book drop for his fall 2025 effort, photographed in a sexy, sci-fi manner by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

Carven, the French fashion label owned by China’s Icicle, named Mark Howard Thomas its director of design. Thomas filled the vacancy left by Louise Trotter, who was poached by Bottega Veneta in December last year. Thomas joined Carven in 2023 as head of sartorial and creative collaborations. Previously, he held various design roles in brands including Lacoste, Helmut Lang, Joseph, Givenchy and Neil Barrett.

April

Versace tapped Dario Vitale as chief creative officer of the brand. Vitale was previously Miu Miu’s ready-to-wear design director and left the company in January. He succeeded Donatella Versace, who was named chief brand ambassador.

Jonathan Anderson was appointed to succeed Kim Jones as Dior’s menswear creative director, presenting his first collection for the French house in June. In March, Anderson departed after 11 years as creative director of Loewe, which he transformed from a small, reputable Spanish leather house into a vibrant global luxury brand steeped in contemporary culture. In June he would then be named Dior’s couturier and womenswear creative director along with his menswear responsibilities.

Jean Paul Gaultier picked the Dutch designer Duran Lantink as permanent creative director. The Paris fashion house has been hosting guest couturiers in recent years. Lantink, who has made circularity a keystone of his design process, was the winner of the Karl Lagerfeld Special Jury Prize in last year’s LVMH Prize competition and of the 2025 International Woolmark Prize.

May

Pierpaolo Piccioli was confirmed as the new creative director of Balenciaga, succeeding Demna after an acclaimed 10-year tenure. Piccioli parted ways with Valentino in March 2024, having worked at the Roman house for 25 years, and sharing the creative director role jointly with Maria Grazia Chiuri from 2008 to 2016. He started his fashion career with a 10-year stint at Fendi, also working there alongside Chiuri.

July

Marni’s parent company OTB picked Meryll Rogge as the next creative director of the Italian fashion house, following the departure of Francesco Risso. She has helmed her eponymous label since 2020 and formerly worked as head of womenswear design for both Marc Jacobs and Dries Van Noten. In 2025, she won the ANDAM Prize and was a finalist for the Woolmark Prize.

September

Rachel Scott was named Proenza Schouler’s creative director, taking over the reins from founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. She oversees all categories for the brand including mainline ready-to-wear, White Label, handbags and footwear. In 2024, Scott took home the American Womenswear Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Fashion Awards and was awarded the CFDA Awards’ Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year honor in 2023 after launching her womenswear label Diotima just four years ago. The New York-based designer, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, also received the Fashion Trust U.S. rtw award in 2025.

Christian Louboutin tapped Jaden Smith as its first men’s creative director. The American rapper and actor is set to unveil his first collection for the French house in January 2026. He is to oversee the creation of four collections a year across shoes, leather goods and accessories, along with developing campaigns, events and immersive experiences.

October

Hermès appointed Grace Wales Bonner as its new menswear creative director, succeeding Véronique Nichanian, who stepped down after 37 years. Wales Bonner is a graduate of Central Saint Martins, upon graduating in 2014, her thesis collection “Afrique” won the L’Oréal Professionnel Talent Award. A year later she debuted at the London menswear collections under her namesake label Wales Bonner. The collection, titled “Ebonics,” won the British Fashion Award for Emerging Menswear Designer. In 2016 she won the LVMH Young Designer Prize. In 2023, she was the invited guest designer at spring edition of Pitti Uomo.

Maria Grazia Chiuri  was appointed chief creative officer of Fendi. It is a return to Fendi for her, as the designer kicked off her career there in 1989, helping to boost the brand’s accessories offer. Chiuri in May stepped down as artistic director of women’s collections at Dior, succeeded by Jonathan Anderson. She departed after nine years at the French brand, the first woman to lead the creation of women’s collections, and writing a key chapter in its history, helping to grow the brand thanks to a mix of commercially successful product and feminist-driven storytelling. 

November

Balmain selected Antonin Tron as its new creative director, succeeding Olivier Rousteing. The French designer came onto the international radar in 2016 when he founded his Atlein brand. After this appointment, Tron will dedicate himself exclusively to the French house. Shortly after launching Atlein, Tron scooped the First Collections Prize at the 2018 ANDAM awards and quickly garnered high-profile wholesale clients including Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Ikram in Chicago, The Webster in Miami, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Boon the Shop in Seoul and Net-a-porter online.