MASS MIGRATION

The industry’s most influential designers are stepping into the mass market — and redrawing the lines of power

- ANIKA DESHMUKH

The clearest sign that fashion’s power structure was shifting did not happen on a Paris runway — it happened at Walmart.

In 2021, American luxury designer Brandon Maxwell was appointed creative director of Free Assembly and Scoop, two elevated labels under the retail giant. If it seemed an unlikely pairing, that was precisely the point. What was framed as democratisation was, in fact, a redistribution of creative authority.

A series of similar appointments has followed, pairing luxury-trained designers with mass-market retailers. Zac Posen became executive vice president and creative director of Gap in 2024. Later that year, Clare Waight Keller, formerly of Chloé and Givenchy, joined Uniqlo full-time after several collaborations. Kim Jones, formerly at Dior, was named head of Areal, a sub-label of Chinese apparel brand Bosideng in 2025. Most recently, Marni’s Francesco Risso announced a new role at GU, Uniqlo’s sister brand.