MODA / FASHION
CHESS BOARD OF LUXURY Get ready for fashion’s new order Spring 2026 has proven to be a season of seismic shifts in fashion capitals. But how? And to what extent? L ike some game of musi- cal chairs, many of the new creative directors of top fashion houses are familiar faces, though known from other houses. Pierpaolo Piccioli is now at Balenciaga, while Demna is at Gucci. That’s where Alessandro Michele used to be, but he’s now at Valentino (where, believe it or not, Pierpaolo once worked). Jonathan Anderson famously left Loewe after having built its brand, only to devote him- self to one of the most complex missions in the fashion industry as creative director of the entire Di- or portfolio. Michael Rider crossed the pond in switching from Po- lo Ralph Lauren to French fash- ion house Celine. Louise Trotter took the reins at Bottega Veneta from Matthieu Blasio (who took on the top position at Chanel), while Hermès announced in Oc- tober that Grace Wales Bonner was its new menswear design-
er, set to debut next winter. And why not? After all, new environments can be fan- tastically inspiring! The current moment is reminiscent of 1997, when fashion houses appointed an
entire wave of new designers at their studios. Marc Jacobs joined Louis Vuit- ton to establish a ready-to-wear line at this house that was then known for bags and suitcases. Michael Kors was hired at Céline and Narciso Rodriguez arrived at Loewe. Stella McCartney de-
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