Designer Uniforms: 10 Designers Who Always Wear the Same Thing

One of the most interesting things about fashion designers is that their personal style often has no connection whatsoever to the clothes they design. The clothes they send down a runway each season may cover a wide range of styles, but when designers come out for their requisite wave and/or bow at the end, they're often wearing the same thing they wore the season before. Perhaps all of their creative energy is wrapped up in their work, so there's nothing left to come up with a different outfit for themselves each day. Or, like the Mulleavys, maybe they've become detached from their work. Whatever it is, there is a trend among designers of picking a certain look and sticking to it.

Here are 10 who have done it to an extreme -- some for a few months and some for entire decades. And remember Tina Fey's advice: “A wise friend once told me, 'Don’t wear what fashion designers tell you to wear. Wear what they wear.’ His point being that most designers, no matter what they throw onto the runway, favor simple, flattering pieces for themselves." It's true! See below for evidence.

KARL LAGERFELD

MARC JACOBS

MICHAEL KORS

TOM FORD

ALEXANDER WANG

CAROLINA HERRERA

THOM BROWNE

JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER 

ALBER ELBAZ

VERA WANG

Raf Simons shocked the Fashion World!

In its second major creative upheaval in the last five years, Christian Dior, the Parisian couture house that is the cornerstone of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury empire, announced on Thursday that the artistic director Raf Simons was leaving the brand. No replacement has been named.

      

According to a statement from Mr. Simons, who is also the founder of a namesake men’s wear brand based in Antwerp, Belgium, the decision was “based entirely and equally on my desire to focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and the passions that drive me outside of my work.”

Sidney Toledano, chief executive of Christian Dior Couture, and Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, thanked Mr. Simons for “his exceptional contribution to the House.”

That contribution centered not only on Mr. Simons’s ability to take the heritage couture house into the 21st century, constantly updating classic shapes such as the Bar jacket with contemporary materials and silhouettes, but also on a sense of personal renewal he brought to the brand after the bruising and very public firing of the former creative director John Galliano for anti-Semitic comments in 2011.

“Raf was the calm after the storm,” said Marigay McKee, a luxury consultant and the former president of Saks Fifth Avenue. “I am really shocked. It was going so well.”

Mr. Simons’s departure from Dior comes just weeks after another well-known designer, Alexander Wang, produced his last collection for a rival Parisian house, Balenciaga.

As industry rivals elsewhere found themselves grappling with a Chinese economic slowdown and foreign exchange volatility, consumer enthusiasm for the Dior brand appeared to grow unabated, something repeatedly attributed by executives to the vision of Mr. Simons. In the period from July 1 to Sept. 30 this year, Christian Dior Couture revenue rose 5 percent at constant exchange rates to 471 million euros, or $524 million, compared with the same quarter last year. For the most recent full fiscal year ended June 30, revenues at Christian Dior Couture were up 18 percent, to €1.77 billion.

“I think that in a short time he has really accomplished a lot,” said Stefano Tonchi, the editor of W Magazine, citing warm reviews not only from the news media but also from buyers. “He has really brought Dior into the contemporary conversation in a certain way it was not with John, the last years with John.”

The news Thursday came as a surprise to the fashion world, following by only a few weeks Mr. Simons’s well-received Dior spring 2016 women’s wear collection, shown in a courtyard in the Louvre before an audience that included Rihanna as well as numerous clients in items from the most recent Dior cruise collection, along with Mr. Arnault and his family.

Mr. Simons was not seen as unhappy in his post, though according to a person familiar with the negotiations who asked to remain anonymous, his contract had expired in May and discussions had been taking place since then.

Mr. Simons reportedly felt stymied by his lack of ability to affect the shape of the brand beyond the collections themselves (he was unable, for example, to redesign the stores), though he was also known to have a particularly amicable relationship with Mr. Toledano.

“As a friend, I feel sad for Sidney, because he invested a lot emotionally in Raf, and it is hard to see the person you have been supporting and coaching and helping leave,” said Ralph Toledano, president of the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, the French fashion trade association. “But Dior is a very powerful brand. Clearly, Raf helped with that. He did a great job.

       "But Dior will survive without him......."

Luca Solca, head of global luxury goods analysis at Exane BNP Paribas, pointed to the example of Hedi Slimane at the rival brand Saint Laurent, a designer known for not simply making the clothes for the brand but also for photographing the ad campaigns and creating the furniture in the stores as the new paradigm for many peers. “It seems to me many people are looking at Saint Laurent in awe,” Mr. Solca said. “The bar has become very high for creative directors to emulate that.”

Mr. Simons, who is Belgian and trained as an industrial designer before starting his men’s wear brand in 1995, joined Christian Dior in 2012 after six years as creative director at Jil Sander, his first women’s wear job. Though he maintained his men’s wear brand throughout his time at both Sander and Dior, analysts estimate it has annual revenues under €10 million.

Speculation now centers on who will be named the next Dior creative director, and a search has just begun. Though the brand declined to set a time frame for its choice, there is some urgency because the luxury industry as a whole is suffering from slowing sales and a challenging global consumer climate, and a house without a creative identity is at risk.

The next pre-fall collection will be designed by the in-house team and shown quietly in January in Paris.

Raf Simons leaves Dior!

Sidney Toledano, the chief executive officer of the Paris fashion house, made the announcement today in a statement. The decision by Simons, 47, not to renew his contract is surprising. Since he took over in April 2012, Dior has prospered under his creative control. And Simons seemed to thrive, too: For once in the gossipy world of fashion, there were no rumors of a rift or whispers that Simons would leave.

Quite the contrary, in fact. After Dior’s spring show in Paris on October 2 — Simons’s last, as it turns out — Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, was backstage praising the designer, although he had already told Arnault and Toledano that he planned to leave.

Simons has always had a warm relationship with both men and with Arnault’s daughter, Delphine, who was involved in his hiring. He gave Dior’s rich, romantic legacy — the full skirts, the fitted Bar jacket, the flowers — a modern edge, and without the drama and personal excess of his predecessor John Galliano, who was fired in 2011. Indeed, Simons’s tightrope walk between realness and high fashion not only felt new and directional, it also helped fuel a 60 percent rise in sales since 2011, as Toledano recently told a French newspaper. For the most recent fiscal year, revenues at Christian Dior Couture were up 18 percent, to $1.94 billion. For those reasons and others, Toledano and Arnault tried over the summer and into September to persuade Simons to stay.

So what’s behind his decision? And what will Simons and Dior do next?

The second question won’t have answers for some time. Simons, who was unavailable for comment, will likely focus on his avant-garde men’s label, based in Antwerp. He no doubt has a noncompete agreement with Dior that will prohibit him from working for another brand for some months, possibly a year. Almost certainly he’ll want to do women’s fashion again, perhaps with a different set of challenges than he had at Dior or Jil Sander, where he worked from 2005 to 2011.

Who will succeed him at Dior? Lots of names will surface. One is Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci. His show in New York in September, attended by top LVMH executives, seemed a platform for a major career move. But is his dark, religion-infused aesthetic right for pretty Dior? And can Toledano strike a rapport with Tisci, as he did so easily with Simons? Another possibility is Phoebe Philo of Céline. Her women-friendly clothes cause a buzz, and she’s a master of accessories, but while it would be fascinating to see a woman at Dior, the London-based Philo may resist the idea of spending more time in Paris — and being responsible for many more shows than she now is at Céline.

And that leads us back to the first question: Why? Although Simons seldom voiced regret in interviews about the workload at Dior — six shows a year, two involving the extra finesse of haute couture — he was candid about the pressures it put on the creative process. Galliano’s downfall made people question the amount of stress designers are under, but that wasn’t Simons’s complaint. He certainly talked about stress, but he had enough personal resources to handle it — a stable private life, close friendships that go back 35 years, an overriding sense of duty toward Dior and the people in its ateliers. This last was evident in Dior and I, the documentary that was shot during his first season as artistic director. He was uncomfortable with the old formalities of couture, like being addressed as “monsieur.” He didn’t want to feel isolated, nor make fashion that was out of touch. As Toledano said to the staff in the film, “Let’s call him Raf, as a token of modernity.”

But Simons was frustrated by the lack of time to create. For his debut show, in July 2012, he had eight weeks to prepare, but that was soon cut in half, given other demands on his schedule. That was okay, he told me a few months ago during an interview for System magazine that will appear in early November, because Dior’s workrooms and their network of suppliers could turn things out at amazing speed. But as he said then, “When you do six shows a year, there’s not enough time for the whole process. Technically, yes — the people who make the samples, do the stitching, they can do it. But you have no incubation time for ideas, and incubation time is very important. When you try an idea, you look at it and think, Hmm, let’s put it away for a week and think about it later. But that’s never possible when you have only one team working on all the collections.”

His solution was to form two design studios last year, so that they alternated on the collections. That helped a lot, he said, but he still seemed to question the value of producing so many shows, and if it was just self-deluding to think that fresh ideas could emerge at such a pace. “Because I’m not the kind of person who likes to do things so fast,” Simons said. “I think if I had more time, I would reject more things, and bring other ideas or concepts in.” He added, “I think I can deal with the highest level of expectation within the business, like massive blockbuster shows, commercial clothes, big concepts. But I don’t think that necessarily makes you a better designer.”

Maybe, but one could argue otherwise — that the pressure of Dior made Simons more proficient, more intuitive. His last haute couture collection, in July, imposed a kind of Flemish stillness on Dior’s New Look volumes, resulting in serenely plain gowns worn with almost decadent cape-coats. Simons said it was his favorite show. It also had a perceptible influence on the New York collections in September, leading to a flock of Guinevere dresses.

Yet despite Dior’s unlimited artistry and a great deal of freedom to reinvent its fashion, Simons’s creative control didn’t extend everywhere, and that may have gnawed at him, too. Some areas, like store design, were out of his hands. There has long been a slight disconnect between Dior’s runway image and the image of the brand presented in, say, its celebrity perfume ads — a gap that was actually wider and weirder in the early Galliano years. Philo, by contrast, seems to have a lot of say in Céline’s overall image — from advertising to the intimate scale of her shows to the cool elegance of the company’s new Paris showrooms. But Dior is a much larger, more complex business — the pride of Arnault, a virtual fiefdom on Avenue Montaigne — and it seems unlikely that one individual, however willing and admired, would ever be given too much power.

So perhaps, after three and a half years at Dior, Simons felt it was not the best place for him.


Does walking away from one of the great Paris houses amount to a rejection of the model of the past 20 years — the big-show, high-profile luxury brand? No, that would be an exaggeration. But it does suggest that the even-tempered Simons is seeking a better sense of proportion — fewer shows, more time to create — and with it, greater control and personal satisfaction.

In a statement released today, Simons said, "It is after careful and long consideration that I have decided to leave my position as Creative Director of Christian Dior Couture Women’s collection. It is a decision, based entirely and equally on my desire to focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and the passions that drive me outside of my work. Christian Dior is an extraordinary company, and it has been an immense privilege to be allowed to write a few pages of this magnificent book. I want to thank M. Bernard Arnault for the trust he has put in me, giving me the incredible opportunity to work at this beautiful house surrounded by the most amazing team one could ever dream of.

 I have also had the chance over the last few years to benefit from the leadership of Sidney Toledano. His thoughtful, heartfelt and inspired management will also remain as one of the most important experience of my professional career. ”

Raf's Dior Story

And so it was announced yesterday that Raf Simons has decided not to renew his contract and to leave Christian Dior for personal reasons, with his spring/summer 2016 collection being his last. "It is a decision, based entirely and equally on my desire to focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and the passions that drive me outside of my work," Simons said in a statement, continuing, "I want to thank M. Bernard Arnault (chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH) for the trust he has put in me, giving me the incredible opportunity to work at this beautiful house surrounded by the most amazing team one could ever dream of."

The quiet Belgian joined the house in 2012.

There was no settling in period; he was tasked with presenting his first collection - a couture collection - in July of that year to an audience that included Marc Jacobs, Riccardo Tisci, Azzedine Alaïa and Alber Elbaz. His first few months at the house were documented in Frédéric Tcheng's Dior and I, which highlighted the enormity of the position. A scene where a teary Simons finds ten minutes to escape to the roof terrace of the show venue, moments before he presents his first collection in order to compose himself is particularly poignant.

His debut was critically acclaimed, respectful but totally fresh and with enough gumption to demonstrate that he had new ideas and direction. He more than proved he was the right man for the job. His shows that followed were hotly anticipated and a highlight of the fashion calendar, not just in Paris during the ready-to-wear collections, but in the increasingly global affair of the pre-collections too, 47-year-old Simons staged shows (or rather, huge productions would be a term closer to the mark) in Cannes, and Tokyo produced by Alexandre de Betak.

These were theatrical shows, even though his clothes never were, which was something he was adamant about since he took the helm, driving a distance between his Dior and his predecessor, John Galliano's Dior, who was fired in 2011. He told Vogue in January 2013 that he never wanted the clothes to be "theatrical, unrealistic, not for wear," continuing, "(Christian) Dior's ultimate obsession is that he wanted them to wear it. I want them to wear it in the street."He succeeded.

A cast of cool ambassadors followed; from Jennifer Lawrence and Rihanna, to a flock of European young things, Olympia Scarry, Alexia Niedzielski and Gaia Repossi, and consequently his designs clocked up miles on the red carpet the world over, not to mention column inches. Sales boosted too under his three and a half-year tenure; the French house enjoyed a 60 percent rise in sales since 2011, while revenues at Christian Dior Couture rose 12.9 percent in its fiscal first quarter (the three months ending September 30th) hitting €471 million (about $553 million).

There is no fall out, no drama, no meltdown; the night before the announcement was made, Simons was dancing in Paris at a party he hosted for Gagosian Gallery in celebration of his good friend and collaborator, the artist Sterling Ruby.

No doubt he will enjoy the freedom that now comes with not having to present six collections a year including the almost unfathomable workload of two couture collections (like most designers, he voiced frustrations by the stifling time constraints) and the focus that he can now put into his eponymous Antwerp-based label, and those other interests, which include art and furniture.
His departure of course means that one of fashion's most prestigious seats is now vacant; all that's really left to answer is who will fill it. Tisci, Elbaz, Theyskens and Philo are all tipped, but if it pans out to be anything like Simons's hiring here, Dior executives will take their time in finding the right successor.

Special Report: Why Fashion is Crashing?

Why Fashion is Crashing?

• Vogue article by Suzy Menkes

The announcement that Raf Simons is resigning from his position as creative director of Christian Dior might seem like a sequel to Dior and I. That film showed the Belgian designer's arrival at the historic Parisian house, his struggle, his tears, his million flowers decorating the walls of the couture show - and his ultimate triumph.
But as with any designer for a luxury house, one successful show is never enough. That film has to be rolled over, again and again and again. January is haute couture; March is ready-to-wear; May is cruise; July couture again; September ready-to-wear again; November resort - or is it cruise again?

Add to this the advertising campaigns, personal appearances, store openings, global visits, trunk shows, museum exhibitions, interviews, Instagram - and it's a wonder that any designer is prepared - or able - to keep up the pace.

The statement that Dior sent out this week was amicable but definite. After three and a half years at the helm, Raf Simons would not renew his contract with Christian Dior "for personal reasons". And the show earlier this month - a well-received fusion of Victorian underwear and modernist clothing - would be his last.
"It is a decision based entirely and equally on my desire," said Raf, while thanking Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, and Sidney Toledano, Dior's Chief Executive, who returned the compliment.

I have no information on this separation - especially since I am currently in Sydney, Australia. But I remembered one incident: at last year's Frieze art fair I sent a text to Raf, whom I have known since his first edgy, schoolboy looks in menswear 20 years ago. I asked him which tent he was in and where we could meet up. The answer, which is still on my phone, was this: "I really miss it - but the schedules are so tight now with another show in December. Just a terrible agenda."

No time to take one day to go from Paris to London, for inspiration, or for the contemporary art in which Raf is so interested and knowledgable? Has being a fashion designer really come to this?
It has indeed. Like that bird in a gilded cage, creative people at the major fashion houses have everything: a circle of assistants, drivers, first class travel, access to elegant homes and celebrity clients. Everything, but time.

All of us in the industry know of people who are living on the edge, using substances to get through the days that roll inexorably into nights. We all think of Lee McQueen and his tragic ending. Of Marc Jacobs lurching though his punishing schedule until he finally gave up Louis Vuitton for his own label. With Dior again in the news, the fashion world gulps and thinks of John Galliano, his drunken anti-semitic raving and the shocking end to that chapter of a brilliant career.
We watch designers adopting protection mechanisms, like Phoebe Philo of Céline refusing to move from her native England to Paris; or Hedi Slimane fleeing Paris after his Saint Laurent shows to his home and studio in far away Los Angeles.

Designers - by their nature sensitive, emotional and artistic people - are being asked to take on so much. Too much.
The situation is not so easy for buyers and editors either, also trying to keep up with a punishing schedule. The pressure on retailing, aggravated by on-line sales and the speed of the digital world, has exacerbated the situation. People talk of "fast fashion" as though it is applied only to H&M or Uniqlo. In fact it is equally present in stores from New York's Bergdorf Goodman to Paris' Bon Marché. New lines are put up constantly, while the rest is marked down.
Then there is social media, as the voracious demands of Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat and Facebook eat into time and designers fight for attention and links to celebrities.

The people who suffer most from high-speed fashion are undoubtedly the creatives, who are the heart and soul of our industry. Without them, there is no fashion - just an echo chamber of ideas; nothing truly new, just repetition dressed up as invention.Ultimately, the fashion world may come to thank Raf Simons for his brave stand. For walking away from Dior with his head held high. For getting his life back.

But someone has to fill his shoes, to take over at Dior. Balenciaga has only just filled its vacancy for a new creative director with Demna Gvasalia of Vetements, after Alexander Wang moved on. And if LVMH moves Riccardo Tisci to Dior, as has been suggested, his place will then be empty at Givenchy.
We used to call this game of vacant thrones fashion's "merry go round". But now the vision is much darker.
Who is next to be thrown into the lion's den?