Luxury Fashion’s Crisis: Why Creative Talent Isn’t the Real Issue

Sabato De Sarno (ex creative director of Gucci) and Kim Jones (ex creative director of Fendi Men and Dior Men)

I’m over fashion companies blaming their failures on creative talent.

Here we are on Instagram, gossiping and speculating about who’s getting fired next, which unfortunate soul will take over, and who will be burdened with the almost impossible task of fixing a system that was already failing.

What’s even more baffling is that the top management of luxury houses still believe they can fix everything just by swapping out creative directors. They refuse to hold themselves accountable, ignoring the fact that consumers aren’t buying into their commercial strategies anymore. People aren’t stupid. There’s a broader crisis happening—not just in fashion but across industries. Changing creative directors won’t suddenly convince middle-class luxury consumers to start spending again, because their priorities have shifted.

And yet, we overlook the thousands of people behind the face of a creative director. That’s what I find the saddest. The people in the atelier—who have likely been there longer than any creative director in recent history. The teams working across merchandising, buying, e-commerce, logistics, and retail. These people are just as crucial to the system, yet they are never part of the conversation.

I read a Vogue Business article the other day where a senior executive complained that fashion gossip and speculation are hurting business. But let’s be real—top management were the first to speculate when they hiked prices beyond reason. So I wouldn’t blame the media or even the employees leaking information. They’re worried about keeping their jobs because they can’t fight against a collapsing system.

What’s happening in fashion right now feels like a parallel to the Great Depression. Speculation started when luxury executives raised prices far beyond global inflation, convinced that their products would keep selling no matter what. That overconfidence led to overproduction, overinvestment, and a blind reliance on Asia—particularly China—where they failed to anticipate a real estate crisis and peak inflation.

I’ve always wondered why luxury fashion insisted on putting all its eggs in one basket. More than 40% of luxury sales came from China for—oh, what a surprise—the very brands now caught up in the creative director musical chairs game.

The luxury houses struggling today are the ones that tried to be more than aspirational. Instead of catering to their actual consumer base, they chased Hermès-level prestige. How else do you explain the rise of the quiet luxury trend? They justified price hikes by claiming they invested in higher labor costs and premium materials, when in reality, it was all about driving higher margins—and shifting the burden onto creative talent.

What was more astonishing is that it was very obvious how some creative directors that didn’t have a long tenure and just left these luxury houses were actually excluded completely from the decision making on in the pursuit of image and brand identity, corporate fashion spent millions on flashy marketing campaigns, celebrity endorsements, and influencer partnerships, often to the detriment of the substance of their brands. Instead of investing in the creative process or supporting innovation from within, they prioritized superficial marketing tactics that failed to resonate with what consumers care about today: authenticity.

We need to stop blaming creative directors.
They’re not responsible for this mess.

The only way to break this cycle is to slow down production. Luxury fashion needs to refocus on niche markets, pause the relentless price increases (because, let’s be honest, no one’s buying it), and—most importantly—start giving creative talent the freedom and confidence they need, rather than reducing their role to profit margins.

Fashion needs to go back to its roots—where creative talent was invested in, celebrated, and, most of all, respected. It’s undeniable that, at this stage, the industry will keep seeing negative numbers. But the essence of fashion needs to be preserved—otherwise, it’s just like any other industry.