In which ways might fashion creativity effectively drive growth?
By stimulating everyone's imagination, by encouraging people to get out of the ambient sadness, by taking them to other territories of thought, by surprising them. Creativity requires us to look at the world differently, to have hope, to believe in the potential of humanity to reinvent itself despite negative forces. Creativity is made of movement, just like life that changes its shape and state continuously. But in a world that suffers from an excess of disposable products, this does not necessarily involve adding products, however creative they may be. Many brands are now committed to renewable production, offering their own vintage or creating clothes as beautiful as a work of art, which we want to keep as a collector's item for a lifetime. This is what the creations of Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria by Dolce & Gabbana are trying to accomplish.
How essential is heritage and/or a distinctive identity in contributing to a brand’s success?
It is generally difficult to build from scratch. There are brands that manage to achieve this feat, such as the leather goods house Polène, which has no heritage or history. But this brand is based on exceptional manufacturing quality and offers objects whose creation echoes the spirit of the times in a very desirable way.
Often, brands without heritage are like orphans who continually seek to find their parents. To give meaning to their lives, to understand why they were born.
Having a history and heritage is a surer way to achieve success. However, this heritage must be worked on, and in many cases, reactivated when the house has fallen into oblivion. Storytelling allows these houses to be distinguished from their competitors through stories that cannot be copied. This highlights the fact that, behind the brand, there are people who have devoted their lives to creation with passion — and not a cold marketing “plot." Houses and brands with a past have an extra soul and have a story that can be passed on that gives the objects additional value.
What surprises you about the industry in 2025?
What surprises me about the industry this year that is just beginning is the immensity of the possibilities to transform the fashion business, and all the challenges that are occurring.
What is the most significant driver of change in fashion right now?
The biggest factor of change in fashion today is linked to those who wear it and who appropriate the industry's proposals in a much freer way. Personal expression is richer, more diversified, sometimes exuberant or, on the contrary, more neutral. The industry has to be more virtuous facing the customer expectations. In certain contexts, with the openness to diversity in recent years, people have changed their view of others and the pressure is less strong. But with the rise of extremism in the world, we also see the opposite happening with a return to very strong and caricatured social codes, such as those of "trad wives."
Who or what is generating the greatest influence in fashion today?
Social media is generally thought to be the biggest influencer. But one might add that public places where people interact with others are also important.
Do trends still matter ?
It is not certain that trends still matter, at least not like in the post-war years when they were real dictates. They are still there because they are useful for the industry, but they are no longer a major subject of reference. They have become a kind of ectoplasm, present but floating, that no one really knows how to define. We live our sartorial lives without suffering from our ignorance.
This interview has been lightly edited.
