The fashion and beauty industries didn’t disappoint when it came to providing plenty of headlining news this year: The biggest story, no doubt, was the ongoing game of creative director musical chairs. While the rapid number of swaps and switch-ups across major luxury houses has been underway over the past couple of years, 2025 saw even more resignations and appointments. This year was also big for the merger and acquisition (M&A) landscape, with E.l.f. Beauty’s $1 billion acquisition of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode and Prada Group’s purchase of Versace.Meanwhile, Vogue U.S. underwent its own internal changes following Anna Wintour’s stepdown as editor-in-chief and her transition to the role of global editorial director. Keep scrolling for recaps of the biggest fashion news of 2025, below. The game of creative director musical chair continues
Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela.Photo: Launchmetrics Spotlight
Fashion’s creative director revolving door didn’t slow down in the slightest this year. Many fashion houses faced significant resignations, including Jack McCollollough and Lazaro Hernandez leaving Proenza Schouler; Sabato de Sarno exiting Gucci; Lucie and Luke Meier departing Jil Sander; Donatella Versace stepping down from the Italian Maison (and her successor, Dario Vitale, exiting after only a season); Jonathan Anderson parting ways with Loewe; Maria Grazia Chiuri bidding adieu from Dior; Francesco Risso leaving Marni; Silvia Fenturini Fendi exiting her role; and Olivier Rousteing stepping down from Balmain.There were plenty of appointments, too, such as Glenn Martens taking over at Maison Margiela; Simone Bellotti going to Jil Sander; Gucci appointing Demna; McCollough and Hernandez overseeing Loewe; Mugler hiring Miguel Castro Freitas; Anderson joining Dior; Matthieu Blazy helming Chanel; Duran Lantink joining Jean Paul Gaultier; and Pierpaolo Piccioli going to Balenciaga.It was particularly exciting to see more women get appointed as creative directors, including Marni’s Meryll Rogge, Proenza Schouler’s Rachel Scott, 3.1 Phillip Lim’s Michelle Rhee, Hermés Menswear’s Grace Wales Bonner and Chiuri ‘s return to Fendi.Vogue’s new era
Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Photo: Jeff Henrikson/Courtesy of Vogue
After a 37-year run as editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour finally stepped down from the esteemed role. She remains at the publication as its global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer. Chloe Malle replaced Wintour as editor-in-chief (or rather, “head of editorial content”). Malle joined Vogue in 2011 as the social editor, eventually rising to editor of Vogue.com and co-host of Vogue’s podcast, “The Run-Through.” Giorgio Armani diedIn September, Giorgio Armani died at 91. The Italian designer had just celebrated his namesake label’s 50th anniversary. Following his passing, Armani’s will mandates new ownership to conglomerates like LVMH or L’Oréal or pursuing an Initial Public Offering (IPO).Major mergers and acquisitions
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Fashion and beauty’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape was particularly active this year, starting with Mytheresa finalizing its acquisition of Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) from Richemont. In May, Dick’s Sporting Goods reportedly agreed to purchase Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, and two months later, Caleres announced it had bought Stuart Weitzman from Tapestry Inc. for $108.7 million. The biggest fashion deal of 2025 was undoubtedly Prada Group’s acquisition of Versace from Capri Holdings for approximately $1.4 billion. News of the sale first broke in April, but it wasn’t finalized until Dec. 2.On the beauty front, the two most prominent deals were E.l.f. Beauty’s $1 billion purchase of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode and Kering selling its beauty division to L’Oréal for approximately $4.6 billion. For the former, Bieber kept her role and responsibilities as the brand’s founder, while also adding three titles to her name: chief creative officer and head of innovation of rhode and strategic advisor to the combined companies. Meanwhile, L’Oréal will soon have a long-term exclusive license of Kering’s fashion labels Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Gucci (once the latter’s current agreement with Coty expires). In response to the sale, Coty is taking legal action against Kering over the Gucci beauty license.Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle campaign
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Sydney Sweeney faced months of white supremacist allegations following her controversial campaign with American Eagle. The ad featured the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” and the accompanying commercial included the line, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color.” It prompted viewers to wonder whether “jeans” was a play on “genes,” and ultimately sparked severe criticism about race, eugenics and Western beauty standards. Immediately after the campaign rollout, American Eagle’s stocks surged 16%, but sales remained relatively flat. Sweeney failed to address the racism allegations — she only debunked the accusations in December (nearly six months after the campaign dropped) — but American Eagle’s CEO, Jay Schottenstein, eventually spoke up and defended the ad, as the uproar did not subside. “You can’t run from fear,” he told The Wall Street Journal in October. “We stand behind what we did.”Ssense goes bankrupt
Photo: Courtesy of Ssense
One of Ssense’s primary lenders placed the retailer under bankruptcy protection (without approval) to try to force a sale. In response, Ssense filed its own CCAA application to “safeguard the company, retain control of our assets and operations, and fight for the future of this business,” it said in a statement. The Canada-based fashion e-tailer is facing severe financial challenges: In May, it laid off 8% of its workforce and reduced benefits to mitigate declining cash flow. Ssense also owes millions to several indie fashion brands, according to a list published by Ernst & Young.Chromat goes on hiatus
Photo: Anastasia Garcia/Courtesy of Chromat
Miami-based swimwear brand Chromat went on an “indefinite hiatus” effective this April. Before pausing operations, it released a final Spring 2025 collection in partnership with author, filmmaker and activist Tourmaline. “After months of agonizing, worrying about who I would disappoint and what comes next, I’ve decided to take a pause on Chromat until it can catch up with who I am,” Founder Bex McCharen told Fashionista. “I’m no longer the girlboss I was when I started Chromat 15 years ago in NYC. So, I’m taking a sabbatical to live my life and will return to design when I’m ready to create from a place of authenticity again.”Saks Global’s challenging year
Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Saks Global was poised for an exciting year after announcing its finalized $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group in January. However, things took a turn when vendors reported that the company failed to pay overdue invoices. In June, the company reportedly was in talks to borrow up to another $600 million to help manage its debt. Saks Global promised vendors to address the delayed payments, but it has still not paid (all) suppliers as of November. Now, the company is eyeing selling its 49% stake in Bergdorf Goodman (whilst also suing former Bergdorf Goodman Chief Merchant Yumi Shin from taking the same role at Nordstrom, alleging she signed a non-compete agreement).The 2026 Met Gala exhibit revealed
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At a press conference in November, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute revealed that its theme for its next fashion exhibit will be “Costume Art,” an examination of art through the lens of fashion and the dressed body. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Anna Wintour and Venus Williams will co-chair the associated 2025 Met Gala. This will be Beyoncé’s first Met Gala appearance in a decade.Stella McCartney buys back minority stake
Photo: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Stella McCartney
In January, Stella McCartney bought back the minority stake in her namesake label from LVMH. “This new chapter for Stella McCartney reflects her desire to write a new page in her story independently, after working closely with the group to strengthen the fundamentals and governance of her house,” the luxury conglomerate said in a press statement. However, McCartney still serves as LVMH’s Global Ambassador on Sustainability. Do you have an emerging brand you want to share with Fashionista readers? Jumpstart your business with our affordable digital offerings.
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