Top fashion brands no longer treat influencer marketing as a separate channel. They are creating unified "press and influence" departments, signaling a strategic integration of content creators into their core communications and formalizing their role alongside traditional media.
The rise of livestream shopping presents a cultural challenge for luxury brands built on exclusivity and "gatekeeping." This new, transparent sales channel forces them to reconcile their closed-off heritage with the open, interactive expectations of the next generation of buyers.
During economic uncertainty, luxury brands have less patience for creative directors who don't deliver immediate results. The pressure to maintain sales and market position leads to shorter tenures and more frequent leadership changes compared to stable periods.
Major fashion houses spend €5-6 million on a single show for an exclusive audience of 300-400 people. This massive investment transforms the event from a creative showcase into a high-stakes business gamble, where immediate positive reaction is critical to justify the cost.
Despite fashion's focus on youth, the new wave of creative directors at top houses like Chanel are in their early 40s. This indicates a strategic shift towards leaders who possess both decades of experience and a native understanding of digital culture, aiming for long-term, stable leadership.
Unlike family-controlled conglomerates like LVMH, the late Giorgio Armani was his company's sole shareholder with no clear succession plan. His passing has put the entire multi-billion euro brand up for sale, triggering a potential industry-wide consolidation event and a