Spring/Summer 2025 fashion month is fast approaching, and it looks like it’s going to be a big one: Several luxury brands are reportedly negotiating major shakeups, meaning the fashion world’s game of musical chairs is on again.
Some moves are set in stone, others are uncertain. What we do know: Peter Hawkings, who was set to succeed Tom Ford at his eponymous label in 2023, is leaving the label after just a year.
The Estée Lauder Companies, which bought Tom Ford in April last year, said in a statement that Hawkings’ successor would be announced “in the near future.” The brand has canceled its SS25 runway show and will instead present its new collection in a showroom in Milan, according to Business of Fashion.
As news of Hawkings’ departure broke, speculation flared on social media that John Galliano might not renew his contract with Maison Margiela, where he has been creative director since 2014.
Miss Tweed, an independent subscription publication covering the fashion and luxury industries, spoke to multiple sources who claim Galliano will return to his former employer, Dior, after he was fired from the French fashion house in 2011 for making anti-Semitic comments that were recorded on video and posted online.
If Galliano were to return to Dior, he would replace Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has led the brand since 2016.
After more than a decade of being shunned by the fashion industry, Galliano made a comeback: His final haute couture show for Maison Margiela in Paris in January was praised by critics for its unbridled artistry.
At the Met Gala in May, Galliano dressed a host of A-list celebrities, including Zendaya, Kim Kardashian, Gwendoline Christie and Bad Bunny. Still, the designer’s return to the spotlight has been met with mixed reviews, with onlookers wondering whether he deserves to be forgiven.
Something is also happening at Givenchy: Miss Tweed reported on Monday morning that Sarah Burton, who was last creative director at Alexander McQueen last September, will join the brand.
Rumours have been circulating that Burton is the leading candidate to succeed the brand after previous creative director Matthew Williams steps down in December 2023.
If all this speculation comes to fruition, the industry will be left with some key roles to fill: Who will replace Galliano at Margiela and Hawking at Tom Ford? Where will Maria Grazia Chiuri go? And perhaps the most pressing question of all: How will the public react to the possibility of Dior reinstating Galliano in his once-disgraced role?
