The Secret Is Confidence

Why Chanel Won This Season

My opinion on this has never changed: the secret of good creative work, and its consequent success, is confidence. This is absolutely true for a fashion collection and, at times, for an entire career.

Confidence is the ability to deliver one’s own ideas without constantly questioning them, without worrying too much about public reaction or financial consequences. It is a belief in oneself and one’s abilities, but most of all, it is a deep trust in the outcome of one’s vision.

Confidence is what makes us love and remember a collection, no matter how far it may be from our own personal style. Confidence, not arrogance or entitlement, is what inspires and creates desire.

I was in awe the other evening when I attended the Kingston University BA show and saw the collections of two young women, Gemma Bird and Chloe Emma Fletcher. They were not derivative; they were expressing their own points of view, their personal creativity, through the techniques they had learned and chosen to apply. You could not miss it. The confidence was there, fully on display.

But confidence also comes from freedom.

Over the past two years, we have witnessed many debuts by established creative directors at the helm of legacy brands. It was often evident to me which designers had been given the freedom to create and build their own signature, and which had been asked to perform in a certain way or create with a particular objective in mind. I could almost hear management voices telling Demna: “You need to build around Gucci the same cultural tribe you built at Balenciaga,” or telling Pierpaolo Piccioli: “Balenciaga is now a cult brand. Cultural relevance is more important than couture skills.”

The result, in both cases, was confusion. The collections were lacking either a clear point of view or the right point of view for the house they were meant to serve. Both designers have demonstrated immense confidence in previous roles. Both possess the talent and skills to succeed, if only they are freed from those voices.