CEO Is More Likely To Become The Biggest Star Of Fashion Brands Than Designers.

In order to present the latest Louis Vuitton fashion show, Vigil Abloh, the artistic director of men's wear, transformed the prince's Square on the island of West Dai into an amusement park. The iconic red inflatable castle and the park bench with carved flower characters have become the LV Carnival scene. The residents in the square scrambled to explore the scenery of the T station from the high level windows, and the guests were seated in a row of coffee shop seats. The seats are carefully placed to ensure that everyone can get a live photo worth being sent to Instagram.

Bernard Arnault, President and chief executive officer of LVMH, the parent company of LV, is one of them. He was arranged to sit on the open platform of the Le Caveau Du Palais restaurant in the square, where she was in excellent position and had the opportunity to take many photos with her cell phone.

Arnault claims to be the number one fan of its own brands such as Christian Dior, Celine and Givenchy. Whether in front of the media or with Dior brand ambassador Charlize Theron (Charlize Theron) or taking the scenery of T, his novelty in important activities is itself a performance. Everyone pays close attention to his performance more closely than ever. Abloh may be an international superstar, and his boss is.

As the world's second richest in the Bloomberg rankings, Arnault has gained extraordinary attention compared with other executives in the industry. Although he is generally acknowledged as the first group of business leaders in the luxury industry, he is no longer the only focus. But once upon a time, these public eyes only turned to the top creative directors.

But this is not always the case. Yves Saint Lauren and Pierre Berg e, Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy, Calvin Klein and Calvin, or in the past of the famous designers and CEO combinations in the fashion industry, the latter often play a supporting role, though not tacit, but not very heavy.

But over the past 30 years, the image of its executives has changed as fashion has grown from a small and medium-sized private sector to a global industry dominated by a multi billion dollar listed group.

In addition to managing the daily operation of the company, the real leader should also be able to communicate in all aspects of the enterprise strategy, from sales, marketing to creative guidance. Including public relations crisis. Today, when Internet activism and rage culture prevail, public relations crisis will break up overnight. Weber Shandwick, a public relations agency, conducted a survey of over 1700 executives who worked for companies with an annual profit of $500 million and above. The results show that the reputation of executives is directly related to the reputation of their companies. Half of the executives surveyed predicted that the reputation of the CEO would have a greater impact on company reputation in the next few years.

Karen Harvey, a recruiter named after his name, said: "a new generation of CEOs should know the power of their own image as creative directors do." Karen Harvey, a recruiter.

"Chief executives are turning into brand ambassadors," added Caroline Pill, who is responsible for global executive recruitment at Kiroline Palmer Associates. For example, Rodrigo Bazan of Thom Browne and Francesca Bellettini of Saint Laurent, every time they appear in public, they will become a brand model, and almost all of them wear their own designer's work from head to toe.

Therefore, whether deliberately or not, CEOs are often as famous as designers who work for them, sometimes even more vigorous. Gucci's Marco Bizzarri, OTB's Renzo Rosso and Tory Burch Pierre Yves Roussel should not come out at the end of the fashion show to bow. But they (and their similar corporate executives) already have a certain degree of public exposure, which is more than just appearing in the quarterly revenue call conference as required.

Executives are now publishing articles on ideological leadership on LinkedIn (like Patrice Louvet just joined Ralph Lauren), or elaborately creating personal images on Instagram and making various statements on Twitter. Fran ois-Henri Pinault has passed the Twitter account of Kering group, announcing that the company will contribute one hundred million euros to the reconstruction of Notre Dame de Paris.

"Social media has changed the focus of attention," said Floriane de Saint-Pierre, executive recruiters and human resources consultant. Chief executives have adapted to this reality and will devote more time to play their part. "

And now CEOs are more likely to persist than creative partners. Mario Ortelli, a luxury goods analyst, said: "corporate management is slightly different from what it used to be. Sometimes, compared with designers, CEOs are more dedicated and more attentive to brands, which is why they are more attractive.

Executives are also more aware of the way to establish and upgrade their personal brands. Stefan Larsson, who is the new president of PVH, has worked in many famous companies such as H&M, Gap, Inc, Ralph Lauren, etc. but he is most famous for his professional ability in supply chain and improving business performance. Kering's Bizzarri is well known for his experience of leading the brand development during Gucci and Bottega Veneta. Michael Burke of Louis Vuitton is famous for its ability to manage and develop large enterprises. Angela Ahrendts is known as the innovator. She helped Burberry transform before, and later in Apple's retail business until the beginning of this year.

The promotion of public image does not always mean success. Christopher Bailey, who succeeded Ahrendts in charge of Burberry, did not leave a good impression on investors when she was chief executive officer and chief creative officer. Eventually, the low-key Marco Gobbetti replaced Bailey as the new chief executive. His work in Givenchy and C line helped him win the chance to reverse the decline of Burberry.

Of course, there must be Chanel. The father of Alain Wertheimer, the chief executive of the brand, is an early investor of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, and he himself is generally understated. He left all interviews and public appearances to the world's chief financial officer, Philippe Blondiaux and chief executive Bruno Pavlovsky. Although the company has just announced its sales revenue in 2018, which has exceeded $11 billion, Wertheimer seems determined to hide behind the scenes. But he took part in recording the eulogy of Karl Lagerfeld, the late designer. The eulogy was broadcast at the Karl Forever memorial meeting in early summer this year in Paris. Many of those present were the first to hear him speak in public.

Harvey said: "the CEO must focus on performance and prove it in real terms. It's good to let everyone know you and know you, but what's more important is to do practical work. "

Interest disclosure: LVMH and some investors jointly hold a small share of Business of Fashion. All investors signed shareholder documents to ensure that BoF enjoyed full independent editing rights.