The Invisible Stitch: Why Are Fashion’s Top Designers Still Mostly Men?

The fashion industry has recently experienced a seismic shift, with a game of musical chairs unfolding among its most influential creative directors. It all began with Hedi Slimane’s departure from Celine, triggering a domino effect that saw major fashion houses scrambling to replace their creative leads. Gucci, Chanel, Valentino, Chloé, Alexander McQueen, and Bottega Veneta all underwent significant leadership changes. And the game is far from over John Galliano’s exit from Maison Margiela, where he was succeeded by Glenn Martens, leaves the fashion world wondering about his next move. Meanwhile, the futures of iconic brands like Christian Dior and Loewe remain uncertain.

Yet, amid all this strategic maneuvering, one glaring issue stands out: why is it that, after these reshufflings, over 90% of the creative directors leading the world’s most prestigious fashion houses are men? Two of the very few women who held top positions Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior and Virginie Viard at Chanel have now been replaced by male designers, reinforcing a troubling pattern in the industry.

A Paradox of Talent and Opportunity

This gender disparity is particularly perplexing when considering fashion education statistics. Men make up less than 10% of university students studying fashion design, yet they overwhelmingly dominate leadership positions in the industry. Historically, women were the backbone of the textile sector, often performing unpaid or underappreciated labor—darning socks, hemming dresses, and mending garments. In the 19th and 20th centuries, their work was indispensable to the textile boom, yet their contributions remained largely unrecognized.

This pattern of exclusion is not unique to fashion. In the culinary world, chef Maria Nicolau highlighted a similar disparity at Madrid Fusión, an international gastronomy congress where, out of 47 featured speakers, only three were women. This statistic is particularly ironic considering that women have traditionally borne the responsibility of feeding families and communities.

The historical exclusion of women from leadership roles extends beyond fashion and cuisine. In the past, art history and humanities were among the few academic fields accessible to women, as they were not directly tied to professional careers. Today, despite women forming the majority of university students in these disciplines, it is still men who predominantly lead major museum institutions.

Breaking Gendered Labor Segregation Or Reinforcing It?

It is undeniable that the rigid labor divisions of the 19th century where fields like textiles, education, and nursing were deemed “natural” extensions of women’s domestic roles—have been disrupted. However, the imbalance persists: while women remain the foundation of these industries, men overwhelmingly occupy the positions of power and visibility.

At what point did the industries that were crucial to women’s economic independence become controlled by men? While men have gained unrestricted access to traditionally “feminine” fields, have women experienced the same ease in breaking into male-dominated spaces of influence? Are we truly advancing toward gender equality, or are we merely navigating a patriarchal system that, like a hydra, sprouts multiple new heads for every one that is cut off?

A Long-Standing Battle for Recognition

In 1971, American art historian Linda Nochlin published the seminal essay *Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?* She argued that the scarcity of renowned female artists was not due to a lack of talent but rather systemic social, cultural, and institutional barriers that prevented women from excelling. Similarly, in 1989, the feminist collective Guerrilla Girls posed a provocative question: *Do women have to be naked to get into the Metropolitan Museum?* Their point was clear—women were disproportionately represented as subjects of art rather than as recognized artists themselves.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and we find ourselves asking a different but related question: despite their talent and qualifications, do women in fashion need to conform to a narrow standard of beauty appearing as models rather than designers to achieve visibility in an industry that is supposedly “theirs”?

The fashion world has long been celebrated as a progressive and innovative space, yet its leadership structure remains archaic. Until this disparity is addressed, the industry will continue to be shaped by a vision that does not fully represent the diversity of talent within it. It’s time for fashion to embrace true equality not just on the runway, but behind the scenes as well.

Content courtesy of NFH Digital Team