Paris Fashion Week is well underway. And while we can lock in for nine days of events from the city’s megabrands, all eyes are on two shows in particular: Haider Ackermann’s debut at Tom Ford on Wednesday night, and Sarah Burton’s Givenchy debut on Friday morning.
We’ve already had some teasers. At the Oscars, Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning both stepped out in looks from Burton’s Givenchy. Chalamet wore a butter yellow leather suit; Fanning, an embroidered white gown with a black bow.
Later that night, Chalamet wore a Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford polka-dot suit to the Oscars Vanity Fair afterparty. It was the actor’s second outing wearing the brand: he also wore Ackermann’s Tom Ford to the Golden Globes, in a slim-fit suit with an over-the-shoulder untied tie.
And at the Louvre dinner on Tuesday, Anna Wintour wore a black Givenchy couture coat embroidered with flowers, and a blush satin gown with an embroidered skirt matching the coat.
Soft launching a new creative director on the red carpet is becoming a familiar playbook, as seen with David Koma’s Blumarine at the 2024 Fashion Awards. But as we know, nothing replaces the impact of that very first show. And as runway debuts become a focal point amid fashion’s hiring and firing frenzy, Vogue Business outlines what’s at stake.
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First up was Haider Ackermann, who made his Tom Ford debut last night. The designer received a standing ovation from the majority of guests, including Tom Ford himself, who Ackermann embraced as he took his bow. The co-ed show featured elements reminiscent of Ford’s many eras, not just at his eponymous brand but also at Gucci, with sexy low slung trousers; tailored waistcoats, which dipped to the navel; and pastel flowing asymmetric dresses, slashed completely at one side. But with edgy, austere and sharp tailoring mixed in, it felt like a new chapter for the label, rather than a re-hashing.
Ackermann was appointed creative director of Tom Ford in September last year, following the departure of Peter Hawkings, after just two seasons. Business-wise, a lot is riding on the Colombian designer, who ran his revered eponymous label from 2002-2020. Sales at Tom Ford Fashion — acquired by Zegna Group in 2023 — fell 12.2 per cent in Q3 2024, with a positive DTC performance failing to mitigate declines in wholesale, according to the company. The brand has met headwinds since the exit of founder Ford, who stepped down in 2023 after selling his label to Estée Lauder Companies for $2.8 billion.
Ford tapped Hawkings, his right-hand, to take over the label, moving shows from New York to Milan. But, as Vogue Runway’s Jose Criales Unzueta wrote, “Hawkings’s brand of sophisticated sexy came across as too studied, a reverberation of Ford’s era-defining look rather than a fresh proposition of his signature aesthetic.”
“For Tom Ford, we appointed Haider Ackermann as creative director in order to bring the brand to its full potential,” said Gildo Zegna, chairman and CEO of Zegna Group during the company’s last earnings call in October 2024. It’s understood that Zegna Group is keen for Tom Ford to grow its womenswear business, where Ackermann — a seasoned womenswear designer — is well placed.
Ford, for one, is excited. “I have long been a great fan of Haider’s work. I find both his womenswear and menswear equally compelling,” he said after Ackermann was hired. “We share many of the same historical references, and I could not be more excited to see what he does with the brand. I suspect that I will be the first on my feet to applaud after his show in March.”
While there’s similarities between the two when it comes to tailoring and eveningwear, Ackermann is keen to push in a new direction, inspired by Ford’s work: “When you think about Tom Ford, you think about the night, but perhaps I am more the morning after: still wearing the shirt, but with a cashmere coat and loafers,” he told Vogue’s Mark Holgate last month.
“Haider will undoubtedly infuse Tom Ford with a more romantic, yet enigmatic, sensibility. While his interpretation will maintain Ford’s signature sex appeal and elegance, I believe Haider will add a layer of complexity and depth,” says MyTheresa buying director Tiffany Hsu. (Mytheresa is a key stockist of the brand). “His ability to merge the sensual with the intellectual will breathe new life into the brand, keeping it rooted in Ford’s iconic codes while pushing the narrative forward.”
Ackermann is likely to bring some renewed star power to Tom Ford too. Chalamet (and by proxy, his girlfriend Kylie Jenner) is a longtime friend. Before his recent outings in Tom Ford, Chalamet wore custom Haider Ackermann several times on the red carpet (including that red halterneck), even after Ackermann quietly paused operations on his eponymous label during the pandemic. On the women’s side, alongside Jenner, who wore Ackermann to the 2023 Met Gala and the 2024 CFDA awards, Tilda Swinton is also a friend of the designer.
“Haider will bring a fresh vision and a strong sense of identity — something the house needs. There’s a distinct energy around storytelling, and I see Haider elevating the brand by offering a forward-looking perspective,” Hsu says. “It’s not just about reviving what was, but about embracing the future and shaping what’s next for the brand. Tom Ford has always been synonymous with confidence and glamour, and Haider will expand on that while adding an intriguing new layer.”
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Sarah Burton was appointed Givenchy creative director in September 2024, filling the vacancy left by Matthew Williams in January 2024. In September 2023, Burton became a free agent, ending a 26-year run with the house of Alexander McQueen and 13 years as its creative director. Burton took over after the passing of founder Lee Alexander McQueen in 2010. It was a successful creative succession, one of aesthetic continuation.
At Givenchy, it will be the first time the talented designer steps out of her mentor’s shoes even though she is following his path (Alexander McQueen himself held the role at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001). She will be able to play with the rich archive of the storied house. For instance, her designs for Elle Fanning at the Oscars took inspiration from a 1952 dress by Hubert de Givenchy from his first collection. A teaser post on the house’s Instagram features brown paper packets containing Hubert de Givenchy’s patterns for his 1952 debut collection, accompanied with Burton’s quote “It’s my natural instinct to go back to pattern-cutting, to craftsmanship, to silhouette.”
Givenchy may not be the largest house within LVMH but its brand awareness is much bigger than its size, not least because Hubert de Givenchy designed the original “little black dress” worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It also has an outsized importance in fashion history, because of its illustrious founder and the designers who followed — including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Riccardo Tisci.
“The challenge is to restore Givenchy’s central role and give it a clearer fashion identity. There has been some hesitation between a streetwear direction and a couture direction in the last 20 years,” says Benjamin Simmenauer, professor at Institut Français de la Mode. Under Tisci (2005-2017), the sensibility was leaning toward streetwear, under Clare Waight Keller (2017-2020) more toward couture and under Matthew Williams (2020-1 January 2024) it was back to streetwear.
With Burton, the pendulum returns to couture and “something architectural and spectacular”, Simmenauer says. The house’s last couture show was pre-pandemic by Clare Waight Keller. Burton clearly has what it takes to create compelling and feminine couture — she’s notably behind Kate Middleton’s wedding dress in 2011.
The brand also has potential in terms of business. “Givenchy has a strong heritage in womenswear and beauty. Under Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy also developed a sizable business in menswear and accessories,” says Mario Ortelli, managing director of Ortelli Co.
Friday’s show will also be a debut for new Givenchy CEO Alessandro Valenti who was appointed in July 2024. Valenti was formerly president of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at Louis Vuitton. Givenchy is part of the LVMH Fashion Group, which also includes Celine and Loewe. For its part, Celine will also have a much anticipated debut, that of Michael Rider in July. These two debuts, alongside a possible new creative stewardship at Loewe, will usher a new era at the Fashion Group.
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