Why Aren't African Brands Hiring Creative Directors?
This week, we speak to African designers who have hired creative directors and break down whether they are ready to "pass the baton".
Welcome back to Africa Reimagined! What a tumultuous time for luxury fashion. From Sabato De Sarno and Gucci to Jonathan Anderson and Loewe, the constant changing of creative directors is dizzying to keep up with. It feels like every week there’s a new announcement, and the whiplash is exhausting. I won’t be adding my two cents to the discussion, but this article, written by Kati Chitrakorn in July last year, perfectly captures the uncertainty around luxury fashion at the moment.
The constant brand shake-ups got me thinking about what succession plans and creative strategies look like for African brands. I’ve been musing over this topic for a while, and after multiple conversations with industry leaders and designers, I kept asking this one question: should African brands hire creative directors? It turns out the answer is not so clear-cut. Very few African brands have attempted to hire creative directors, and an even smaller percentage have successfully handed over creative control to another designer.
Sophie Nzinga Sy is one of those designers attempting to write the playbook. Nzinga and I unpacked this in last week’s newsletter, but for those who aren’t paid subscribers, let’s recap. Nzinga, who founded her eponymous label in 2012, hired the brand’s first creative director last year as she stepped away to focus on other endeavours — including spearheading a new government-led initiative aimed at strengthening the ‘Made in Africa’ and ‘Made in Senegal’ movement. It’s a rare move in the African fashion sector, and there are a multitude of reasons why. As Nzinga rightly points out, few brands are willing to hand over creative control.
Across the continent, creative directors are typically the brand founders. They stay in this role for decades, some producing small collections annually and others quietly shuttering the business after a long period of hiatus. “In Senegal, paving the way for the next generation to take over brands as creative directors is really new,” Nzinga said. “This is definitely a weak point that we have in the [African] fashion industry. We don’t pass the baton often enough when it comes to creative direction.”
Another designer who has thought a lot about creative direction is Faith Oluwajimi, founder of the Nigerian brand Bloke and 2023 LVMH Prize semi-finalist. Oluwajimi named Daniel Obasis, the Lagos-based photographer and stylist, as the brand’s first artistic director in 2023. The news surprised many, and spectators were eager to see what this partnership would entail. “It was a good decision at a bad time,” he said, noting that it was an exciting period for the brand as it was fresh off the LVMH Prize nomination, and Oluwajimi was ready to expedite Bloke’s growth and expand into Europe.
Others have also toyed with the idea of appointing a creative director. However, letting go of creative control can be unnerving. It’s a decision that could completely transform a brand or be the catalyst for its downfall. Designers enjoy seeing the pieces that they’ve worked tirelessly to create adored by loyal customers. However, passing the baton to another designer — albeit the right designer — can help the brand expand its design framework and inject new life into the business. Lagos Fashion Week mainstay Emmy Kasbit is not opposed to working with a guest designer for a one-off season, a move that would offer customers something different from the brand’s usual pieces.
Brand building and succession plans aren’t always top of mind for designers, particularly as many of them have not reached the 15- to 20-year mark. “Building something with longevity in mind is fairly new to a lot of African designers,” said Oluwajimi. “We barely see [brands] live past one generation or even barely past a decade… building something that is worthwhile [and] will outlive a generation or two or even more is something a lot of African designers haven’t worked their minds around.”
Designers tend to focus on building their own label rather than refining and enhancing their skills in-house at an established brand. On a design level, collaboration and teamwork are missing from the African fashion industry, said Oluwajimi. “We don’t see things of cultural relevance enough to attain a level of national pride,” he said, adding that many young designers don’t see the value of collaboration in order to build a heritage African house. “There are quite a few hurdles you have to jump through [as an African designer], and I think it would have been easier and faster to break those barriers collectively.”
The Bigger Issue
While hiring a creative director sounds like an exciting milestone, it’s not a priority for several African brands who are in the midst of strengthening their business models and creating a strong foundation to withstand these appointments. That’s something Oluwajimi discovered shortly after appointing Obasis as artistic director — the business was not financially and logistically ready for this shift and as a result, he quietly dissolved the partnership.
To put it simply, hiring a creative director shouldn’t be a top priority if the brand is still in the process of establishing its business model. Without a solid foundation, brands will struggle to navigate the myriad of setbacks that come with running a business while simultaneously attempting to revamp the creative direction.
The absence of fashion schools and institutions across the continent means that designers are figuring things out themselves — successfully and unsuccessfully, said Oluwajimi. “If you look at Europe… you have institutions which guide and support these brands. Regardless of how big you are as a company, there are guidelines and regulations for brands to follow… and we need more of that in Africa,” he said. From work experience at existing fashion brands to mentorship and general business advice, designers are calling for an authoritative fashion body that can help strengthen Africa’s fashion industry on a systemic level.
Perhaps the question here isn’t whether African brands should hire creative directors, but instead, are African brands ready to hire creative directors? “We have designers that have been designing for 20 or 30 years, but in the grand scheme of things… we don’t have an established label or designer brand, we are not there yet.”
One reader (Sessi Sanaa) made a great point last week about what the creative director role will look like for African brands:
It’ll be interesting to see how African designers/founders evolve into this “passing the baton” role. And it’ll be more interesting to see if we personalise the idea of Creative Directors or simply replicate the western model of it.
I agree, and it’ll be interesting to see how this shift unfolds.
Thank you for reading, I’ll be back in your inbox next week!
Glad that you highlighted some brands that have already tried having a CD. It’s not easy to give up or share creative control, especially as a founder. I’ve been quietly exploring the possibility of bringing on a co-founder to my fashion services agency; Clearly Invincible. The thought is unnerving as you adequately put it. But still excited to see how brands personalise having a CD - like Emmy Kasbit having a guest designer is so genius.
Also, thanks for featuring my comment 🫶🏾
Appreciate you educating us! I'd love to see some African heritage houses one day. I think that would dramatically change how the fashion world (and quite frankly everyone else) perceives the continent.