In the case of Chanel, there were a number of studio collections between the departure of Virginie Viard and the arrival of Blazy, meaning the transition may be smoother as their designs won’t overlap.
“Usually, it’s not a clear switch from the outgoing to the incoming designer, it’s a two-step approach. You have got a pre-collection that’s designed by the studio and that’s a palate cleanser [heavier on the carryover, without the injection of the new designer’s vision but sometimes edited by them],” says LuxExperience’s Johnson. “It’s also a pragmatic decision as it often depends on the contracts of the designers and the timing.”
The rush to grasp the final collection
Do final collections work commercially? Is there a ‘collector’ factor? “There are so many variables,” says Harrods’s Longland. “If the outgoing designer was on a high when leaving, the final collection could be a huge commercial opportunity. You often even have two seasons to buy into — the penultimate and the final collection — to get your fix before the designer leaves.” Dries Van Noten’s last menswear collection before he retired, practically sold out, according to the house.
“Jonathan Anderson’s Loewe pieces remain in extremely high demand,” Longland continues, citing the success of the Puzzle bag reissue that marked the design’s 10th anniversary. (The pieces featured in Harrods’s window display and sold out in just a few days, including the Anime re-edition, inspired by Anderson’s visit to Japan for the SS16 menswear collection.) “In other cases, a designer’s departure doesn’t move the dial. Typically, we wouldn’t increase our buy when a designer leaves — but we wouldn’t reduce it either.”
Johnson agrees: “With designers like Hedi Slimane at Celine, there was a rush to grasp the last pieces. As a brand or a retailer, you want to be able to satisfy the demand but there’s a bit of a conflict because that’s not the message that the brands want to send.”
Secondary market
It’s not just the final collection. When the designer leaves on a high, it can reignite interest in their entire tenure, says Sofia Bernardin, co-founder of Resee, a Paris‑based luxury resale site specialising in curated fashion.
