The news
After months of speculation, Chloé announced that its creative director, Gabriela Hearst, was leaving the French fashion house after a three-year tenure.
A statement released on Thursday confirmed that the women’s collection, set to be shown on September 28 during Paris Fashion Week, would be her last for the brand.
Why it matters: Chloé wanted to be a pioneer in sustainable fashion
Ms. Hearst, a Uruguayan-born designer of womenswear and accessories, founded her eponymous luxury label in New York in 2015 before joining Chloé in December 2020. Chloé is one of the few fashion houses owned by the luxury goods group Richemont, which has historically focused its growth ambitions on its jewelry brands such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, but has recently invested in its fashion labels, which include Alaïa.
To many observers, the combination of Ms Hearst and Chloé seemed like a smart couple. The designer has long been committed to improving transparency and sustainability standards in the industry. And in 2021, Chloé announced that it was the first luxury fashion house to receive B-Corp certification, which assesses how a company seeks to engage in community good while making money. It seemed that the world’s wealthiest shoppers found a taste for ethical fashion at stunning prices. The Nama sneaker, made of knitted suede and recycled mesh, was a bestseller and according to its managing director Riccardo Bellini, the brand has seen sales increase by 60 percent in the last two years.
However, rumors throughout 2023 suggest that Ms Hearst and Chloé could part ways, partly due to the pressure placed on the designer by her transatlantic schedule. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Hearst continued to run her New York-based company while also running the Chloé design studio in Paris.
Background: Industry-wide designer upheaval
Ms. Hearst’s departure follows the departure of numerous creative directors at all stages of their careers: Jeremy Scott from Moschino, Tom Ford from Tom Ford, Rhuigi Villaseñor from Bally and Ludovic de Saint Sernin from Ann Demeulemeester.
Most exits have their own specific triggers. But collectively, they underscore the increasing turnover among fashion brands’ creative directors as impatient executives push for rapid sales growth despite very ambitious design and production schedules and an increasingly fickle consumer.
What’s next: A successor seems to be in the starting blocks
In June, there were reports that Chemena Kamali, a former women’s design director at Saint Laurent and most recently creative consultant at contemporary line Frame, had been selected to succeed Ms. Hearst. Ms Kamali – who also worked for a time at Chloé under Clare Waight Keller – was reportedly already running a parallel studio at Chloé as part of her preparations for taking on the role.
Chloé declined to comment on when Ms Hearst’s successor will be announced.
“It has been the greatest privilege to share my creative vision and add my voice to the story of Chloé,” Ms Hearst said in Thursday’s statement. “I’m grateful to have been part of the incredible team that laid strong foundations for a purposeful future in fashion.”
It remains to be seen whether the fashion house will maintain its recent costly investments in leading the industry in designing, producing and selling responsible fashion, or take a new direction.