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This is Connecting the Dots, a series in which writer José Criales-Unzueta looks at how fashion, pop culture, the internet and society are all interconnected.
Some of the most iconic fashion of the past century came from not only once-in-a-generation talent, but the business minds behind them. Yves Saint Laurent had Pierre Bergé, Valentino Garavani had Giancarlo Giammetti, Tom Ford had Domenico De Sole, Marc Jacobs had Robert Duffy.
These CEOs are credited with taking the designers’ visions and crafting them into something that can perform commercially without diluting their creativity. They helped to broker deals with wholesalers and investors, get collections into production and products to market. Fashion must be bought, worn and flaunted to leave a lasting impression; these executives made sure their designers’ outputs didn’t fall into the void.
Over the past decade, however, the role of the designer CEO has become elusive and often nebulous. Many young designers have put off bringing on a partner to run the business side — think of Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee of Vaquera or Wiederhoeft designer Jackson Wiederhoeft. Most times I meet a designer breaking onto the scene, they offer proudly that they’ve built their brand solo: no business partner, no left brain to compliment their right. Designers today seem less keen to do away with equity to bring on a partner, or perhaps it is they don’t find it easy to source said partner early on. It can also be that there is now less ambiguity around what it takes to build a label — thanks to the internet, social media and other business how-to platforms, the landscape is less hazy than it once was.
It’s certainly admirable to fly solo, but I’m left thinking — would these designers benefit from having someone to bounce ideas off, someone to take some of the operational load off their shoulders? Now, in the midst of fashion month, and with many emerging labels on my radar, I offer an investigation: what happened to the CEOs?
“The challenge for a young brand in bringing on a CEO has always been budget constraints,” writes Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, over email. “Often, the investment in leadership takes a back seat to the immediate need to design, produce and sell a collection. The cost and infrastructure required for a collection can outweigh the perceived need for senior leadership.” What this does, says Kolb, is leave the designer managing both the creative and the business sides, which can be risky for those without a business background or the relevant know-how. “Many young designers are vulnerable to making mistakes — they learn as they go, relying heavily on perseverance in the early years,” he adds.
Drive can build a label, but does it build a long-lasting business? “The word CEO trips people up,” says Wen Zhou, co-founder and chief executive of 3.1 Phillip Lim. She was a manufacturing partner for designers before meeting Lim, which led to the pair starting the label almost 20 years ago. “There is a lot of outside noise for young designers, and many don’t have that person starting out, so looking for one feels like they’re giving away things or their companies for the sake of having someone come on board, but it has to be the right person.”
Zhou didn’t start out as CEO. Her role, at first, was fabric sourcing and manufacturing support for the brand. She was on top of product development, then operations, and eventually, human resources, finance as well as other various hats. Along the way, she hired the right people to support the skill sets she didn’t have or needed to learn more of.
“The role of the CEO sometimes carries so much weight and unnecessary burden,” says Zhou, “you feel like you need to be the answer to all the questions, because the chain ends with you.” The direction or success of any business is often put on the shoulders of the CEO, but for Zhou, as it pertains to founder-led businesses, this responsibility isn’t just weighed on the CEO, but on the partnership between CEO and designer. “It’s about bringing a vision together and a shared vision requires shared responsibility.”
The caveat of comparing today’s buzzy designers with names such as Saint Laurent, Jacobs or Ford, is that these three figures were connected with their respective partners well into their careers — and in some cases, by way of the roles they occupied prior to going off on their own. De Sole and Ford met at Gucci, while Bergé and Saint Laurent met socially during the latter’s tenure at Dior. “In some cases, success has come from having capable friends or qualified individuals step into leadership roles in exchange for equity rather than salary,” Kolb says. “If a designer is comfortable with this and is careful with equity terms, it can be an effective approach.”
Designers may need a doer, or someone to take parts of the business off their plates, but, as Zhou explains, in most cases and at least earlier on, that role is closer to that of a business operations manager, or a head of sales or production. “I see a lot of young designers give away equity in order to hire a good CEO, but I would say that protecting your equity and only giving it away when you really understand what this person is going to deliver is more important,” says Zhou, echoing Kolb’s consideration of being mindful with equity terms, while also understanding the necessities of the business. “The obvious risk here is the split focus,” says Kolb, with “designers not being able to fully dedicate oneself to either the creative or the business side”. In the meantime, Zhou’s suggestion is for designers to hire fractional CMOs or CFOs, or to work with sales or logistics experts to set up their businesses.
“Ask yourself, does your business need a role this big?” is what Zhou suggested young entrepreneurs consider before scouting out an executive. “We need to have real conversations about what makes sense for a business,” she explains.
During a recent conversation, a designer friend mentioned that the idea of finding a CEO was daunting, but that more than anything and at least for now, it made more sense to have an accountant and a product developer as opposed to an executive for what is a relatively slim operation. The follow-up question here is understanding when the role of a CEO becomes imperative.
The right time to find a CEO, Zhou says, is when businesses have reached a scale where it not only feels appropriate, but necessary. You only need an overlord once the business is organised, with enough moving parts for someone to look over it all — until then, the position can feel almost superfluous. “Recruiting a CEO or a president into the long-term business plan is essential,” says Kolb, explaining that the timing is dependent on “reaching a level of cash flow or profitability that can support a salaried position”.
Take the case of Piotrek Panszczyk and Beckett Fogg of Area. The duo, who celebrated the brand’s 10th-year anniversary this past New York Fashion Week, started the label as design partners, but, following a series of operational changes in the aftermath of the pandemic, Fogg formally took on the CEO role. “We both have a creative background, but I geared more onto the business side a few years in,” Fogg told me in an interview ahead of their autumn 2024 show earlier this month.
“Piotrek’s identity is Area. He’s such an incredibly directional designer, so we needed to lean into that, and I think that was the correct move,” she added. “Especially in New York, trying to go at it solo… I don’t know how anyone does it,” Fogg continued, “it gets to a point where you have to concentrate on certain aspects of the business to get anywhere. It’s an extremely complex industry, and both the creative and business sides are important, but they have to be in constant dialogue.” Fogg said that it was always important for them to value both concepts equally so they can “lift each other up”. While this distinction in their roles unravelled organically, Area is an example of how labels reach a point where splitting the roles becomes not just efficient, but compulsory.
Earlier this year, in an interview with Vogue Business, Khaite designer Catherine Holstein, who launched her label in 2016, explained her decision to hire a CEO: “I always knew I could get Khaite to a certain point. I know what I know and I know what I don’t know: taxes, warehousing, logistics, real structural points. It’s not my expertise. So bringing somebody in that’s done that before was imperative to the growth and longevity of the brand.” Holstein onboarded Brigitte Kleine as CEO in 2023, who is an operating partner at Stripes, the growth equity firm that took a majority stake in the label at that same time. The tipping point at Khaite was seven years in, around the same as Area.
The final piece of the puzzle, at least from the perspective of this designer friend, is where to find the right partner. Today, however, more and more designers launch their labels straight out of fashion school, or only a couple of years after occupying more junior positions in the industry. “I think we’re just more siloed now,” said this friend. “It’s not like you meet your perfect CEO match in art school.”
“Word of mouth is often the best way to find the right person,” offers Kolb to designers searching for an operations-minded partner. “Following industry trades can also help identify potential candidates who are currently in executive roles and may be interested in a title promotion. Don’t discount early-career professionals with potential or even friends, classmates and family members with the necessary skill set. While recruiters can be costly, some may offer pro bono or reduced-fee services if they believe in the brand’s vision.”
We often say that the industry has changed, but, from where I’m standing, one of the most significant changes in the past decade or so is how and when designers choose to launch and shape their businesses. The internet and social media have enabled everyone to have a platform to showcase their work on, and, as a result, we’ve seen more and more brands and designers rise organically. This has fundamentally changed the way many businesses in the industry operate, which in many cases is more informally.
“The one thing that doesn’t change are the fundamentals of running a business,” says Zhou. “You need good product and you need to ship and deliver your product on time.” The rest, she says, is constantly in flux, and it’s all of our jobs to learn and adapt. “A business is a living thing, it’s much like a garden,” she continues, “all it takes is a good gardener.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
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