Your Guide To The Top Creative Directors In Fashion Now

2025’s New Creative Directors

1. Rachel Scott, Proenza Schouler. Previously/currently: Diotima. Replaced: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez
2. Nicholas Aburn, AREA. Previously: Balenciaga’s couture studio. Replaced: Piotrek Panszczyk
3. Demna, Gucci. Previously: Balenciaga. Replaced: Sabato De Sarno.
4. Louise Trotter, Bottega Veneta. Previously: Carven. Replaced: Matthieu Blazy
5. Dario Vitale, Versace. Previously: Miu Miu design director of ready-to-wear and head of image. Replaced: Donatella Versace
6. Simone Bellotti, Jil Sander. Previously: Design director at Bally. Replaced: Luke and Lucie Meier
7. Meryll Rogge, Marni. Previously: Meryll Rogge. Replaced: Francesco Risso.
8. Jonathan Anderson, Dior. Previously: Loewe, Jonathan Anderson (currently). Replaced: Maria Grazia Chiuri (women’s), Kim Jones (men’s).
9. Miguel Castro Freitas, Mugler. Previously: Sportmax. Replaced: Casey Cadwallader.
10. Mark Howard Thomas, Carven. Previously: Helmut Lang. Replaced: Louise Trotter.
11. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Loewe. Previously: Proenza Schouler. Replaced: Jonathan Anderson.
12. Pierpaolo Piccioli, Balenciaga. Previously: Valentino. Replaced: Demna.
13. Duran Lantink, Jean Paul Gaultier. Previously: Duran Lantink. Replaced: Jean Paul Gaultier.
14. Matthieu Blazy, Chanel. Previously: Bottega Veneta. Replaced: Virginie Viard.
15. Grace Wales Bonner, Hermes Menswear. Previously/currently: Wales Bonner. Replaced: Véronique Nichanian.
16. Maria Grazia Chiuri, Fendi. Previously: Dior. Replaced: Kim Jones, Silvia Venturini Fendi.

Open Positions And Designers At Large

1. Olivier Rousteing. Previously: Balmain.
2. Hedi Slimane. Previously: Celine.
3. Kim Jones. Previously: Fendi & Dior Mens.
4. Virginie Viard. Previously: Chanel.

Your Guide to The Top Creative Directors in Fashion

1. Miuccia Prada, Prada & Miu Miu

The youngest granddaughter of Mario Prada, Miuccia Prada took over the family-owned Prada group in 1978, and is the founder of sister brand Miu Miu. Mrs. Prada helms Prada alongside Raf Simons and is the sole creative director of Miu Miu, where she has created a legacy of before-her-time silhouettes that are led by her intrinsic knack for knowing what the women of today want to wear before we do.

2. Raf Simons, Prada

Raf Simons, current co-creative director of Prada, is best known for his eponymous label—which shuttered in 2022—and his time at the helm of Jil Sander, Christian Dior, and more recently, Calvin Klein before being appointed to head up Prada alongside Miuccia in 2020. The Belgian designer’s early work is best known for his incorporation of youth culture from various sources, especially music, and infusing his singular, minimalistic silhouettes with both codes of prep and rebellion.

3. Demna, Gucci

Previously at Balenciaga, Demna, formerly known as Demna Gvasalia, is the Georgian designer behind half of Vetements, which he previously served as co-creative director alongside his brother, Guram Gvasalia. Demna spent 10 years at the helm of Balenciaga, where he brought his techy, subversive silhouettes into the forefront of fashion at the storied French house. Now, at Gucci, Demna’s vision will be laced into the fabric of the Italian house codes. If there’s one person to bring in to shake up a brand, it’s Demna.

4. Alessandro Michele, Valentino

Alessandro Michele is the Italian designer responsible for our understanding of the Gucci brand throughout the late 2010s, where he served as creative director for seven years. His exit from Gucci came as a shock when the news abruptly broke in late 2022, and his successor Sabato De Sarno was announced not long after. In 2024, Michele was announced as the new creative director of Valentino, succeeding Pierpaolo Piccioli (now at Balenciaga). His opulent, whimsical, and vintage approach to design makes his distinct eye one of the most covetable in the business.

5. Jonathan Anderson, Dior

One of Northern Ireland’s most prolific fashion exports, Jonathan Anderson is frequently understood as the design genius of a generation. After an unconventional start in his design career, Anderson launched his own line of menswear under the eponymous JW Anderson brand; LVMH took a minority stake in in 2013, and named Anderson as the new creative director for Loewe. By 2019, Anderson was creating 18 different collections each year and operating at the highest level in his field. Earlier this year, after much speculation from the industry, Anderson was appointed creative director of men’s and womenswear at Dior, overseeing both departments, plus haute couture and accessories. Both his menswear and womenswear debuts for the storied French house this year were met with much acclaim from the industry and clientele, ushering in a new era for Dior, which was previously helmed by Maria Grazia Chiuri (women’s) and Kim Jones (men’s).

6. Maria Grazia Chiuri, Fendi

Before her tenure at the helm of Dior women’s for almost a decade, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s career highlights include a stint at Fendi, where she recruited Pierpaolo Piccioli to work alongside her before the duo moved to Valentino as co-creative directors. From there, she moved to Dior in 2016, succeeding Raf Simons, where her debut collection, featuring her iconic “we should all be feminists” t-shirt set the tone for her female-forward vision at the French house. Now, having just been appointed at Fendi as creative director, Chiuri will return to the Roman house she worked for back in 1989.

7. Pierpaolo Piccioli, Balenciaga

Pierpaolo Piccioli, now the creative director of Balenciaga, spent the past 16 years at Valentino from 2008 to 2024, before being appointed at the helm of Balenciaga in May 2025. Piccioli’s legacy is one whose singular vision celebrates the female form, clean lines, and an affinity for beauty through silhouette. During his time at Valentino, he riffed on the idea of Valentino red and created a collection entirely from a shade of fuschia that he dubbed “Piccioli Pink,” a shade which he vaguely embedded in his debut Balenciaga collection, alongside monochromic hues and pops of color-blocking that feel intrinsic to Piccioli as a designer.

8. Nicholas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton

Nicholas Ghesquière is best known for his work at Balenciaga prior to Demna’s tenure at the house, where he spent 15 years carefully curating the Kering-owned brand’s identity before he abruptly exited in 2012. He joined the LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton in 2013 and succeeded Marc Jacobs (who was the first creative director of ready-to-wear for the French house at the time). Ghesquière is largely considered one of the era’s most enduring, innovative designers, having helped turn Balenciaga into one of the most profitable and fast-growing luxury brands in the market during his tenure and going on to have the same effect at Louis Vuitton. Ghesquière’s work is best recognized for his ability to blend futurism and sci-fi codes with historic silhouettes.

9. Matthieu Blazy, Chanel

Matthieu Blazy is currently fashion’s golden child. Having popped up seemingly out of nowhere (he actually hails from Raf Simons and Maison Margiela), Blazy was tasked with filling Daniel Lee’s shoes when he abruptly left Bottega Veneta in 2021. After capturing hearts with his affinity for tricky trompe l'oeil techniques and creating impossibly elegant silhouettes, Blazy was selected to succeed Virginie Viard at Chanel in 2024. After his blockbuster debut show at the French maison for Spring/Summer 2026, Blazy has cemented himself in the greats hall of fame.

10. Anthony Vaccarello, Saint Laurent

Anthony Vaccarello has been guiding the vision of Saint Laurent since replacing Hedi Slimane at the helm in 2016. Previously working on collections at Versus Versace, Vaccarello has scaled Saint Laurent to become one of the most covetable modern luxury brands in the world, offering exacting, painfully-chic collections that are underscored by almost uniform-like silhouettes.

11. Sarah Burton, Givenchy

Sarah Burton is one of the few female creative directors at a luxury house at this moment in fashion. She worked at Alexander McQueen’s eponymous brand alongside the legendary designer starting in 1997, then for another 13 years starting in 2010 after his passing. Now, at Givenchy, Burton is reimagining who the Givenchy woman is through strong, streamlined silhouettes.

12. Chemena Kamali, Chloé

German designer Chemena Kamali’s design history aligned with the likes of Phoebe Philo, Claire Waight Keller, and Anthony Vaccarello before she was tapped to helm French house Chloé in 2023. During her tenure, she has almost singlehandedly reinvigorated the boho trend, combining her knack for French ease and freedom with a nomadic sensibility that feels fresh and current.

13. Pieter Mulier, Alaïa

Another Belgian force of fashion is Alaïa creative director, Pieter Mulier, who is also a close friend and collaborator of Raf Simons and partner to Matthieu Blazy (both Mulier and Simons were at Blazy’s debut show cheering him on). After serving as Simons’ right hand since 2002, Mulier took the helm at Alaïa in 2021. His clever, body-forward codes have upheld the vision of Azzedine himself while reflecting an astute understanding of how the women of today want to dress.

14. Phoebe Philo, Phoebe Philo

One of the most prolific female designers of her generation, British-born Phoebe Philo’s legacy spans a stint at Chloé, an inimitable legacy at Celine, and now her own eponymous, LVMH-owned Phoebe Philo label. She brought quiet luxury to the market decades before the internet coined the term, and cemented herself as a fashion heavyweight during her tenure at Celine, where self-proclaimed “Philophiles” still go to battle for her archival pieces.

15. Michael Rider, Celine

Newly appointed Celine creative director Michael Rider has scooped up the hot seat after Hedi Slimane’s stint at the French house, and this September, debuted his sophomore collection for the brand. Previously the design director at Celine under Phoebe Philo, the American designer returned to the brand in 2024, bringing forward a sense of prep and refinement to the Parisian glamour of the house.