Two major fashion houses lost their creative directors on Thursday. Calvin Klein confirmed that Veronica Leoni will leave Calvin Klein Collection when her current contract ends, and Kering said Seán McGirr is stepping down at McQueen after three years. Neither brand has named a successor.
Leoni was appointed creative director of the relaunched Calvin Klein Collection in May 2024, bringing back the American brand’s top-tier line. She presented her first collection in New York in February 2025 and leaves after four seasons, once her current contract runs out. WWD was first to report the news, shortly before the company confirmed it. Calvin Klein said a new creative leadership structure for the Collection line would be presented soon, but gave no further detail and did not say who would design the next season.
At McQueen, the Irish designer McGirr joined in October 2023, taking over from Sarah Burton, who had led the British house for 26 years. He showed his debut collection in March 2024. His exit comes only weeks after his first catwalk show for the house in London in September 2026. That show had been billed as a homecoming for the label and as a fresh start under chief executive Gianfranco D’Attis. McQueen said it would announce its new creative leadership shortly, but has not named a replacement.
The two departures arrived within a week of another high-profile exit. On 9 October, Kering announced that Anthony Vaccarello was leaving Saint Laurent after ten years at the helm. The group said a successor would be named soon, but as of Thursday no appointment had been confirmed, leaving two of its houses looking for new creative directors at the same time.
The changes suggest that a new round of musical chairs may be under way in the industry. FashionUnited compared the latest moves with the reshuffle of 2025, when more than 20 leading brands changed their creative leadership and 16 designers made their debuts at 15 houses during the September 2025 shows. For Kering, which owns both Saint Laurent and McQueen, the timing means two of its labels are now searching for new creative leaders at once.
