DALLAS, Mar 30, 2007 / FW/ ⿿ The news that Hedi Slimane left his post at Dior Homme came no surprise to fashionistas who had heard rumors that negotiations of the renewal of Hediâ¿¿s contract was at a standstill.
According to rumors during the Paris Menswear Fall 2007 season held last January, Slimane was asking for 2 million euros per month as salary. Paris fashionistas were divided on their opinion on this one.
Some said that Hedi Slimane is worth it because Creative Directors are traditionally the â¿¿head of a fashion house,â¿¿ and should be treated as such, the way CEOs of companyâ¿¿s are who historically are paid in 6 figures.
Others were scandalized, saying that though Slimane is one of the most influential menswear designers, he has overestimated the value of his name and influence.
Opinions became more polarized when Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH said on a French television interview that he personally makes 19 million euros a month. Nicknamed the â¿¿Pope of Fashionâ¿¿ and truly one of the most important names in fashion, the traditional Paris fashion crowd still sees Arnault as a financier. Historically, financiers are â¿¿lowerâ¿¿ in position than the Creative Director of a fashion house.
To American fashionistas, the situation was a no-brainer. Used to the high salaries of CEOs in big corporations similar to LVMH, Bernard Arnaultâ¿¿s monthly gross income is understandable, even expected, considering that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet make more than that.
As for Hediâ¿¿s asking salary of 2 million euros a month, American fashionistas saw it mostly as part of the negotiations. There was no polarity in opinion whether it was too high or too low. It was just a figure on the negotiating table.
Still, this is a Parisian fashion house, and the historic Dior maison. And this is Hedi Slimane, charismatic and well liked by the fashion crowd, who has also reached the level of the popularity of a rock star. He has groupies for goodness sake!
Emotions were high and camps very pronounced on which side one is on, reminiscent of the time when Yves Saint Laurent & Tom Ford was â¿¿feudingâ¿¿ fashion style.
So, Thursdayâ¿¿s announcement that Kris Van Assche had been appointed as Creative Director of Dior Homme came as a denouement in this high fashion drama, and once again raises the question, â¿¿Who really rules in a fashion house?â¿¿
When Charles Worth signed his name on his creations in the mid 1800s, the fashion designer was born and haute couture began its climb as the crÿ¨me de la crÿ¨me of fashion especially with the foundation of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in 1868.
For the next 100 years, the designer has defined a fashion house and his/her personality imprinted in the house, the best example is Coco Chanel, who 46 years after her death, her signature silhouettes are still seen in the latest Chanel collection.
Still, Chanel is only one of the few design greats wherein the house survived after her death. Even Charles Worth, considered the Father of Haute Couture, the House of Worth is now relegated to perfume and a luxury line of underwear. Fashion innovators like Madeline Vionnet and Poiret are now just part of fashion history, their names unknown to the general public.
Today, fashion houses are no longer a single proprietorships. Fashion houses are now corporations. Giorgio Armani, one of the most respected names in fashion also had to incorporate, albeit there is only one stockholder, Giorgio Armani.
Valentino is part of the Marzotto Group, and so is John Galliano. PPR, under the Gucci umbrella owns Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Balenciaga.
As for LVMH, the company owns the biggest names in fashion â¿¿ Christian Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, Loewe.
Renzo Rosso, under the Diesel umbrella owns Diesel, DSquared and Martin Margiela. And if rumors are true, Viktor & Rolf will also be under Diesel soon.
In short, the single proprietorship fashion house is a dying breed, not because there are no talents out there, but like most businesses, it has to survive in the global economy.
So, has the reign of the Creative Director as the â¿¿top honcoâ¿¿ in a fashion house ended? No, it has not. The Creative Director still calls the shots, to use a vernacular. But, he or she no longer has absolute power. He or she now has to answer to stockholders, venture capitalists and a Board of Directors.
In short, the Creative Director is no longer the ultimate boss. The current business conditions demand that the Creative Director answer to someone else. Even Ralph Lauren, founder and designer of the Ralph Lauren label now answers to a Board of Directors, though he has remained CEO of his own company.
Paris is the center of the fashion universe when it comes to creativity. A hundred years ago, it was possible to be the creative head and the business head of a fashion house. In that regard, the Creative Director made the most money in terms of salary.
But, a lot had changed since then. Mass communications and a global economy had forced everyone to specialize. Fashion houses were not immune to this trend. Single proprietorship fashion houses died out and corporations became the norm.
So today, there are fashion groupsÿ - LVMH, Gucci, Prada, Marzotto and Armani, which is a franchise on its own. Because of this set up, CEOs earn a higher salary than the Creative Directors of fashion houses because CEOs manages the whole group, usually an umbrella of companies.
And if salary is the only measure of worth, then CEOs are worth more than the Creative Director of the fashion house. Of course, this is not really the case. It is a matter of point of view. And if we really want to get technical, it is based on how many stocks own in a company. Because at the end of the year, when dividends are being given, the more stocks one has, the more money it is worth.
With this in mind, are corporations becoming the death of fashion houses? Absolutely not! Small houses wish to be picked up by big fashion groups to survive. Case in point, Alexander McQueen left his post as Creative Director of Givenchy so that his eponymous label can be part of the Gucci Group.
Corporations and fashion designers live in a symbiotic relationship. Without the other, a fashion house will not survive. Though this might be a sad state of affairs to the traditionalist Paris fashion crowd, fashion like other businesses had become survival of the fittest. And its quest for survival, fashion houses has to make alliances.
