The fashion industry has a male problem

In 2017 Francois-Henri Pinault, the CEO of the Kering Group, shared in a series of tweets: “At a time when diversity is at stake, I want to reaffirm how crucial this value is to me and to Kering. Diversity of origin, opinion and belief is part of our identity and our success.”

This week it was announced that Sean McGirr would be the new creative director of Alexander McQueen. The news was met with uproar on social media. McGirr's hiring effectively meant the leadership at Kering comprised only white male creative directors.

While Kering has taken the brunt of the criticism, this is just a symptom of a bigger problem in the industry.

When surveying the largest luxury fashion groups, you will notice:

• There is not a single woman of colour after the exit of Gabriela Hearst at Chloe.
• There are three men of colour, namely:
• Pharell at Louis Vuitton;
• Nigo at Kenzo; and
• Mike Amiri at his namesake.
• There are five women at the top:
• Lucie Meier alongside her husband at Jil Sander;
• Camille Miceli at Pucci;
• Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior;
• Silvia Venturini Fendi for Menswear at Fendi; and
• Alberta Ferretti.
• Harris Reed is the only gender-nonconforming individual at the helm (at Nina Ricci).
• Of the 39 people in the top creative positions at LVMH, Kering, OTB, Puig, Richemont and Aeffe, 30 are white men. Only three of these people are of colour.

Unfortunately, this is only just scratching the surface.

Fashion has always had a diversity problem which has appeared in various iterations. The barriers to entry are increasingly difficult to overcome. The costs that accompany attending fashion school are exorbitant. This, and few funding opportunities available, creates fertile grounds for exclusion. Unpaid internships are out of the question for those who cannot afford it.

This problem isn’t unique to fashion. It shows up in various industries, ultimately, showing us what those promises uttered in solidarity a few years ago meant: nothing

Finances and class are not the only barriers for anyone entering the industry. The connections and who you know matter as well. Jobs often go to people within networks. What’s even more bizarre is that 85% of the graduates from the top fashion schools in the world are women, but only one in six women are employed in the fashion industry.

These barriers, while not rooted in identity, are implicitly exclusionary. The road to a more representative industry is not fertile for growing diverse talent.

While there is difficulty at the bottom of the totem pole, it doesn't bode well at the top either. In 2022, 70% of CEO appointments in fashion were white men. There is this ever-growing pyramid of representation in the industry, while the game of fashion CEO musical chairs never ends. For example:

• Marco Gobbetti has been the CEO at Moschino, Givenchy, Celine, Burberry and now Salvatore Ferragamo;
• Jonathan Akeroyd, who succeeded Marco Gobbetti at Burberry, was the CEO at Versace and Alexander McQueen; and
• Emmanuel Gintzburger, who replaced Akeroyd at Versace, was the CEO at McQueen.

While this feels like some crazy once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, it reflects the status quo.

Success is not determined by whether you make it in these high-level positions. They do, however, illustrate the state of our society. I read an article recently where the writer said: “If the industry appoints another white man, it signals that we are going backwards.”

While it may seem like that, it more accurately described the action of ripping off the plaster on a gaping wound. While that may sound gory, it feels like the only way to describe the systemic problem we thought was addressed due to the political unrest of the past few years.

All of these companies issued statements in solidarity and announced their new chief diversity officers who landed up on a glass cliff.

This year Kering had two opportunities to hire new talent for both Gucci and McQueen. I cannot make the outright claim that McGirr and Sabato De Sarno were wrong for the houses. Their appointments could have been because they were the best candidates for the position. They both have held senior positions at successful brands. It might have been the obvious choice for everyone in the room. It doesn't matter.

It’s about what these appointments represent. It reinforces the idea that white men are the only ones fit for these roles. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

At the end of a majority of articles like this, there is often some sort of solution offered to the problem presented. I believe the pressure of solving systemic problems such as these should not be a one-person job.

This problem isn’t unique to fashion. It shows up in various industries, ultimately, showing us what those promises uttered in solidarity a few years ago meant: nothing.

• Ulindelwe Ratsibe is a freelance fashion journalist and stylist.