Alexander McQueen and Calvin Klein both severed ties with their creative directors on Thursday, as Seán McGirr exits the Kering-owned London house after roughly three years and Veronica Leoni departs Calvin Klein at the end of her current contract.

Both parents — Kering and PVH Corp. — said they will name new creative leadership soon. The moves follow the September 2025 arrival of Luca de Meo, a veteran automobile executive, as Kering chief executive officer, and come one week after Kering confirmed Anthony Vaccarello's exit from Saint Laurent following a ten-year tenure. No successor at Saint Laurent has been named.

Speculation also surrounds Balenciaga, where creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli is returning the brand to its couture roots, though no change has been confirmed.

What does the McQueen exit mean for the business?

McGirr's departure comes roughly four months after Kering installed Gianfranco D'Attis, previously CEO of Prada, as president and CEO of Alexander McQueen, citing his "strategic vision, operational rigor and deep luxury expertise."

De Meo has been blunt about the need to restructure the brand, which incurred heavy losses after opening 135 stores worldwide and growing excessively reliant on sneaker sales — a category that at one point represented 80 percent of revenues. The retrenchment involves layoffs and a downsizing of the retail network.

De Meo thanked McGirr for his "contribution and dedication" and said he wants to establish "a bold new direction for the house, building on its unique heritage of exceptional tailoring, uncompromising creativity and rebellion."

D'Attis said McGirr approached McQueen "with great respect for its history while expressing his own vision" and helped reconnect the brand with London's creative energy. McGirr, who succeeded Sarah Burton and previously headed menswear at JW Anderson, said he leaves "with profound gratitude for the dedication of the studio and atelier, and craftspeople." For spring 2027 he brought back jeweler Shaun Leane, a former McQueen collaborator, to the runway for the first time in 16 years.

How did Calvin Klein frame Leoni's departure?

Calvin Klein confirmed Thursday that Leoni will leave at the end of her contract, ending market speculation that had circulated for months. David Savman, global brand president, said: "I want to thank Veronica for her creative vision, commitment and partnership over the past two years."

He credited her with reintroducing Collection, calling it "a significant milestone," and said Collection remains "the pinnacle expression of the brand" and part of long-term strategy. New Collection creative leadership will be revealed "in due course."

Leoni joined in May 2024 — the first female creative director of Calvin Klein Collection — and showed her debut for fall 2025 in February 2025, ending a multiyear runway hiatus that began when Raf Simons departed in 2018. She showed four collections in total. Her spring 2026 collection was called a "standout" by WWD, and spring 2027 was judged more evolved in fabric and silhouette, centered on the founder's '90s sportswear archive.

Momentum indicators were strong: Calvin Klein ranked first in social engagement during New York Fashion Week, with a 15.3 million score for spring 2027, up 552 percent versus the prior February, according to ListenFirst.

Retail adoption, however, lagged. None of the stores surveyed by WWD listed Calvin Klein among their favorite collections during the recent fashion week.

What do analysts say the brands need?

Robert Burke, founder and CEO of Robert Burke Associates, said: "I think she was improving but better isn't enough," noting competition from Khaite and The Row, where Leoni previously worked. "Calvin is such an iconic brand, and the collection has to be exceptional and not just good. The biggest indicator is that the retailers never responded to it. I don't know any major department store that had the collection."

Julie Gilhart, founder and president of Gilhart & Co., said: "Talent needs time to evolve; there is no plug-and-play. Time is a creative gift, and in these results-driven days, it is hard to hold on to."

Gary Wassner, CEO of Hilldun Corp. and chairman of Interluxe Holdings, said the brand needs someone young, "like a Peter Do."

For PVH, the stakes are measurable. In the second quarter ended Aug. 2, Calvin Klein revenues fell 7 percent to $913.3 million, with roughly 4 percentage points of the decline attributed to wholesale shipment timing in the Americas shifting into the second half. Across underwear, jeans, apparel, accessories, home and fragrance, Calvin Klein's global retail sales were approximately $9 billion in 2025.

Leoni, a Rome native, founded her label Quira in 2021, a 2023 LVMH Prize finalist, after roles at Jil Sander, Celine, Moncler and The Row. McGirr's résumé spans Dries Van Noten, Burberry, Christophe Lemaire for Uniqlo, and an early stint at Taiwanese fabric producer Singtex.

Both groups have promised swift succession announcements, with retail networks, wholesale distribution and Collection's future placement the decisions to watch in the coming months.