Are female-led Creative Directors more exposed to criticism in Fashion Powerhouses?
In fashion, some individuals receive different treatment than others, both in real life and online. Not even the major figures of the industry are safe from this disparity, particularly creative directors.
Once a role held in the highest echelon of the business, the Creative Directors crisis we are seeing in the fashion industry has been making waves lately. Alessandro Michele leaving Gucci, Sabato de Sarno beings criticised for the new style infused in the brand, Sarah Burton leaving McQueen and lately, Virginie Viard stepping down at Chanel.
But this treatment disparity is oddly emphasised in certain profiles more than others. Even if we assume that admiration, leniency, or criticism of an artistic director is based on merit, the truth is deeper than clothing, often involving racism, ageism, and sexism. When it comes to fashion powerhouses, which we oddly feel protective of, recent history shows a pattern of analyzing, forgiving, and becoming almost addicted to the archetype of the male genius.
Social media is often comfortable expressing open mockery for female figures like Virginie Viard and Maria Grazia Chiuri. It’s as if the entire industry participates in an inside joke, eagerly awaiting these two creative directors to release collections just to fuel hateful content, when they are not the only decision-makers on the final outcome of their collections. Big fashion houses, often inside corporate groups, have a wide constellation of business, financial and metric-oriented teams that would demand maximisation of profit each season. They don’t call it fashion industry for nothing.
It is easier to think that the pieces we see down the runway are the result of a single creative process, with the creative director calling the shots. This is rarely the case for established luxury brands, and those that have female figures such as Chiuri, who is heavily critiqued each season, could also denote a veiled judgement to the work of a mid-age women that does not fit the stereotypical beauty canons that the fashion industry is constantly feeding us.
Notably, Virginie Viard’s exit from CHANEL is seen as a call for youthfulness in a brand that hadn’t been expected to be youthful for decades before her. The lifetime work of a dedicated French couturier has been under scrutiny by a digital-savvy audience that is highly unlikely to buy CHANEL products outside of the beauty and fragrance categories. The Pret-a-Porter and leather goods consumers have not had such a massive critique of Viard’s work, as reflected on Bloomberg’s Financial Results of the fashion house.
“Chanel Ltd. sales rose 16% on a comparable basis to $19.7 billion in 2023, it said Tuesday. Operating profit reached $6.4 billion, an 11% increase.” – (Bloomberg, May 2024)
The criticism of Viard’s and Chiuri’s work carries a different tone compared to their male counterparts. What makes some creatives more susceptible to open judgment than others? Is it their gender, their age, or their more ‘low-key’ attitude? Or do we all become openly aggressive when everyone else does?
