The Great Fashion Reset

By Levi Kaye, edited by Charlotte Lewis

Image - BOF

It’s fair to say that 2025 marked the year of an unprecedented shake-up in luxury fashion.
While changes in creative leadership are nothing new, an almost unbelievable fourteen creative director appointments across some of the biggest luxury fashion houses is far from business as usual. Fourteen houses. Fourteen new appointments. In 2025, luxury fashion didn’t just evolve, it reset.

Fashion leadership is often described as a game of musical chairs, which isn’t inaccurate. But what makes this year different is not just the reshuffling of names, but where they’ve landed. I use the word "reset" not to suggest these appointments are new to fashion, but to reflect how brands are rethinking the kind of creative vision they want to move toward. It says a lot about where these houses are heading, and that’s what makes this moment so exciting.

Take Jonathan Anderson, for example. His appointment feels like the right place to begin, because it represents, in my opinion, the biggest shift in a heritage brand this year. In June 2025, Anderson was handed the keys to Dior — not just womenswear, menswear, or couture, but all of it. That is, frankly, a huge deal. Not since Christian Dior himself in the late 1940s has one individual held that level of creative control at the house.

(Images, left to right: Loewe, March 2024, Anok Yai, styled by Kate Phelan. ; Jonathan Anderson, Courtesy of Vogue ; March 2023, Anna Ewers in Loewe’s spring/summer 2023 anthurium dress, styled by Jane How.)

Before Anderson’s appointment, Kim Jones and Maria Grazia Chiuri led Dior’s menswear and women’s ready-to-wear and couture divisions, respectively. This split approach worked, and the success of both directors is undeniable. Jones brought a streetwear-luxury hybrid to menswear, often referencing the Dior archives, while Chiuri delivered bold, feminine collections that redefined the brand’s visual language. Despite their stylistic differences, the brand never felt incoherent. Yet, with Anderson's appointment, Dior seems to be signalling a shift toward a more unified and cohesive creative vision.

Of course, Anderson is more than capable. His work at Loewe alone proves that. But giving one person full creative control at Dior marks a bold departure for the brand. Is it a smart evolution or a high-stakes risk? Time will tell.

Then there’s Sarah Burton. Her appointment as creative director of Givenchy may not have made as many headlines as Anderson's, but it’s just as significant. After over 20 years at Alexander McQueen, 13 of them as creative director, Burton built a reputation for meticulous craftsmanship and deep emotional storytelling. Her move to Givenchy feels like a quiet passing of the torch, contrasting the seismic shift at Dior.

(Images, left to right: Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2024 Show ANATOMY II. ; Sarah Burton, Courtesy of Vogue ; Givenchy Autumn/Winter 2025. )

Givenchy’s decision to bring Burton in seems to speak to a desire for depth, legacy, and refinement. It’s a bet on quiet strength over loud reinvention. But the big question that remains is whether Burton, whose success was built on an intimate understanding of McQueen’s legacy, can bring the same authenticity and innovation to a new house with a very different identity.

She has already shown her first collection for Givenchy, but it’s still early days. Whether she can begin a new chapter of success for the house remains to be seen.

Somewhere between Anderson’s bold reinvention of Dior and Burton’s quiet refinement of Givenchy is Glenn Martens’ appointment as Creative Director of Maison Margiela. Formerly the creative lead at Diesel, Martens took over following the departure of John Galliano, who had led the house for nearly a decade.

What makes Martens’ appointment different from the others — both those we’ve discussed and those we haven’t — is the position of the brand itself. Margiela has long occupied a unique space in luxury fashion. Galliano's tenure, though often controversial, left behind a powerful creative legacy. His years out of the spotlight coincided with a transformation of the brand into something theatrical, experimental, and avant-garde. If you haven’t already, go back and watch Maison Margiela’s Spring 2024 Couture show. It says everything.

(Images, left to right: Jean Paul Gaultier: SPRING 2022 COUTURE ; Glenn Martens, The Business of Fashion ; Diesel Fall/Winter 2023 )

Martens feels like a wildcard, but a calculated one. His work at Diesel may lean more commercial, but he brings with him a sharp, conceptual design sensibility. His process is structural, smart, and completely unpredictable. His couture debut for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2022 proved he is more than capable of handling fashion’s highest expectations.

The next chapter for Maison Margiela might not make or break the house, but it will definitely draw eyes in Paris this year.

These are just a few of the many leadership changes shaking up the luxury world. What it all means for the future of fashion is still uncertain. Right now, the industry feels like it is in a creative limbo. We are mid-reset, but where we land is anyone’s guess. One thing feels clear: the stakes are higher than ever, and the seasons ahead could be the most defining yet.