21/07/2022 By acomputer 597 Views

Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo… These designers who sparks before launching their eponymous brand

88TOM Ford and Stella McCartney during a Gucci evening in 1999 © Pool Arnal/Charriau/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Parmarine Poyer

In the fashion microcosm, choosing the good artistic director can make or undo the fate of a fashion house.And if some designers have no intention of seeing their names spread out in capital letters above the door, others worked in the shadows for several seasons before launching their own brand.Back on these miracle makers with gold fingers.

Tom Ford, Gucci Savior

When Tom Ford made his debut at Gucci in 1990, the Italian house does not have the preponderant place which she occupies today on the fashion scene.Aging, she is governed by Dawn Mello and struggles to renew herself.When the latter hires Tom Ford, she entrusted him with the female ready-to-wear line.In barely four years, he climbed all the levels to end up being appointed artistic director of La Griffe in 1994.Under its aegis, the latter takes an ultra-sexy turn and notably becomes the showcase of chic porn aesthetics, developed by the creator, Carine Roitfeld and Mario Testino.

When he left the Florentine label in 2004, she is among the most rated houses of the moment.At the same time abandoning the similar functions he has occupied at Saint Laurent since 2000, there is a time for coming to the aid of the Versace house before finally being forgotten a few seasons.In 2005, he signed his comeback, launching his eponymous brand by first offering a line of perfumes and a range of accessories and sunglasses.The ready-to-wear will come a few seasons later.

Alber Elbaz, Lanvin's providential man

After remarkable passages at Guy Laroche and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (where he will also be replaced by Tom Ford) Alber Elbaz joined the ranks of the Lanvin house in 2001.For almost fourteen years, he returned his letters of nobility to the oldest French fashion house. Son style, féminin mais jamais niais, est porté aux nues et il est invité, en 2010, à confectionner une collection capsule pour le géant H&M.Rewarded with a CFDA Award and considered by the magazine "Time" as one of the 100 most influential people of 2007, he was however dismissed in full glory by the owner of the label in 2015.Four years later, he launched his own brand, called Az Factory, whose first collection was presented in January 2021, just a few months before his disappearance, on April 24.

Stella McCartney, the chloé nugget

When she made her designer debut at Chloé in 1997, Stella McCartney succeeds Karl Lagerfeld, famous for having raised the house twice, the first in 1966 and the second, in 1992.The stakes are high and the pressure is there.But just 25 years old, the British designer takes up the challenge brilliantly and offers a new youth at the Parisian label collections.In 2001, she left her duties in order to launch her eponymous claw, specialized in making a more green fashion, leaving Chloé's fate in the hands of her friend, Phoebe Philo.

Donna Karan, Anne Klein's heiress

Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo… ces designers qui ont fait des étincelles avant de lancer leur marque éponyme

In the fashion world, few relationships are as fused as that which united Anne Klein to Donna Karan for several decades.The first, pioneer of American ready-to-wear at the end of the 1940s took the second under her wing in the 1960s, when she won a small summer job in her company.Passionate, Donna Karan gradually climbed the ladder, until they become the creator's right arm in just a few years.When the latter died in 1974, it was naturally that Karan gave resumed the reins of the label.She will lead her for ten years, until her departure in 1984.The following year, she founded her eponymous claw and present in March her collection of Seven Easy Pieces, a range of seven essentials easy to assemble to create a chic and versatile wardrobe.

Yves Saint Laurent, the dolphin of Christian Dior

At the time when Christian Dior died on October 24, 1957 when he took the waters in Montecatini (Italy), tradition still wants a fashion house to go out at the same time as its founder.However, the designer had everything planned: in his correspondence, he had ores and indicated that one of his assistants, who entered his service only two years ago, could occupy a more important place in the process of.Her name ?Yves Matthieu-Saint-Laurent.His style ?Already well asserted, since he is notably the father of the black and white dress carried by the model Dovima in the iconic photo "Dovima and the elephants" by Richard Avedon.In November 1957, the young man aged only 21 took the artistic direction of La Griffe.Praised by all, he presented in January 1958 his first collection for the house on avenue Montaigne, to the applause of the press and the customers.However, in 1960 he was called upon to carry out his military service.The Parisian label replaces him with Marc Bohan while he is preparing the land for his own fashion house.The latter was born in 1962.

Karl Lagerfeld, the man-orchestra

Few designers can boast of having had an influence as important as that exerted by Karl Lagerfeld for almost seventy years.After having occupied the position of assistant at Balmain from 1955 to 1959, the year he was appointed artistic director of Maison Patou following the disappearance of his founder, he offered in 1963 his drawings to Gaby Aghion, mother of the house Chloé.Three years later, in 1966, she left him carte blanche and the sales of the label take off.But it is not enough for the Kaiser, who takes pleasure in drawing for multiple claws at the same time.In parallel, in 1965 he joined the Fendi sisters in Rome to help them rejuvenate the family home.A few years later, in 1982, the owners of Chanel called on him to revive the claw, then on the verge of bankruptcy.Once again, it's an idea that turns out to be bright.With these multiple contracts (which he will keep, for Fendi and Chanel, until his death in 2019), he launched in 1984 his eponymous brand, renowned for reinterpreting his most emblematic codes tirelessly.

Serge Ruffieux, Dior's revival

Replace a star designer with the artistic direction of a large fashion house can sometimes take some time.Thus, when Raf Simons eclipsed from Dior in October 2015, its headquarters remained vacant for almost a year.However, impossible for the claw not to present any collection during this period of time.Fortunately for her, she was able to count on the two stars of her creation studio, Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier.During a few collections, the duo has shown that he was able to fill the shoes of the Belgian creator.And after a passage by Carven, Serge Ruffieux recently announced the launch of his own claw, 13,09 SR, specializing in the creation of accessories.

Phoebe Philo, Celine's regenerator

A graduate of the Central Saint Martins School in London, Phoebe Philo took her first steps as a designer in 1997, in the Maison Chloé, where she officiates alongside Stella McCartney, met during her studies.When the latter leaves the Parisian claw in 2001, she gives way to Phoebe Philo, who will revisit the aesthetics of the brand until her departure in 2004.Three years later, she returned, appointed to Celine, another Parisian house for which she will work for almost ten years.Under its guidance, the claw wins in chic and sobriety and offers a minimalist and functional ready-to-wear that does not forget to be highly elegant.His departure in December 2017 looks like an earthquake in the cozy fashion universe and many fans claim his return to great reinforcements of Instagram accounts dedicated.In July 2021, the designer announced the launch of her eponymous brand, supported by the LVMH group, for January 2022.