The GQ Guide to the Great Fashion Designer Shakeup

Ahead of last year’s September runway-show season, practically everyone in the fashion industry agreed that change was overdue. Across the board, slowed-down spending was discouraging bold ideas. Critics and consumers were bored. So were designers themselves—even the highest-profile creative directors were fantasizing about a shake-up.

What transpired was more of an earthquake. Over the next eight months, more than a dozen luxury houses replaced their designers in a flurry of hirings, sudden departures, retirements, realignments, and shifting alliances that at times felt like luxury Game of Thrones. By the time the dust settled, Balenciaga’s creative director was at Gucci, Gucci’s ex-star was at Valentino, and Valentino’s designer was at Balenciaga. Dior was under one designer’s control for the first time since Christian; Dries Van Noten and Donatella Versace had named successors after hanging up their shears; and three Americans had moved to Paris to join the LVMH big leagues.

So who will be the knight in shining armor to rescue us from the clutches of (gasp!) quiet luxury? Which houses will burn down in the process? And who will be able to wrestle fashion into a bold new era? (Remember, men’s fashion’s streetwear revolution wouldn’t have taken place without a series of reshuffles nearly a decade ago.) On the cusp of another September, here’s what to know about who seized power in the battle for the future of fashion.